Kits Coffee Co. closes after 17 years in business

by Stephen Hui on Sep 24, 2012 at 3:13 pm
So long, Kits Coffee Co.
Nicole Reid

Some Kitsilano coffee addicts are going to have to adjust their routines.

Known for its roomy patio and for stocking cinnamon buns, Kits Coffee Co. (2198 West 4th Avenue) is no more. A sign on the door of the café says it has closed down after 17 "great" years in business, but doesn't state a reason.

Luckily, coffee fiends have an abundance of non-Starbucks options in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, most of them aren't as unpretentious as Kits Coffee was.

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Comments (7) Add New Comment
Vancouver19
Sep 24, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Top 40 music blasting full volume and distracting TVs on American football? Great coffee shop.
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Darren T.
Sep 24, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Don't worry Vancouver19; as the author points out there are plenty of pretentious coffee shops in the neighbourhood.
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tedelection
Sep 25, 2012 at 3:40 am
4th is taking a beating the last few years.....i guess it's to world class for business now..

Vancouver is a dying city
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West Side Till I Die
Sep 25, 2012 at 5:54 pm
i really loved going to kits coffee whenever i was in the area. I do admit the last couple years i stopped going there. But back in the day, great people watching area on the patio. The coffee was pretty decent and the pastries and sandwiches were great.
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West 4th BIA
Sep 26, 2012 at 12:40 am
So very sad to see them go, as it was a surprise to us too - the owner never indicated to us that they were planning to close. However, the good news is that West 4th has had 21 new businesses open between Fir and Balsam since January 2012, so our street is one of the quiet success stories in the City's retail sector. We sincerely thank everyone for supporting our businesses on 4th.
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Former employee
Sep 26, 2012 at 9:56 pm
I worked at Kits coffee over 10 years ago and honestly am surprised to see it go. I haven't frequented the area lately but surprised that business was down that much. I have a feeling something is coming to this location in a not to distant future.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dave sold the business and it will come back as Cafe Artigiano, as they do not have a presence on 4th Avenue.

Anyway, I wish Dave well, he is a nice guy and was a good boss.

Cheers
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Long time Patron
Sep 28, 2012 at 1:36 am
I have known David ( the owner) my entire life. He didn't even tell me that he was closing the shop.I do know the numbers have gone done since there are now many more shops in the neighborhood like take 5 and terra's bread and 49 parraellel. Also his long time provider of fresh organic coffee was JJ beans and that changed to some other company out of seattle just a couple of months ago. So his product changed. And there wasn't that same patronage that was once there. I live in that area and I've seen the number of customers go down to nearly 25% of what they use to be...

I will miss it.
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