While there's unfortunate news for patrons of Commune Café, there's good news for Belgian waffle aficionados.

The inviting Commune Café, which offered a range of gourmet comfort foods such as corned beef hash and beef dip sandwiches in a stylish room, has closed at 1002 Seymour Street. It'll be replaced by a second Nero Belgian Waffle Bar, which currently has a location at 1703 Robson Street in the West End.

By phone, Nero owner Jan Dierckx said the new location, which they're currently renovating, is three to four times larger in size than their Robson location. While they can currently seat 16 people inside (with 10 to 12 outside) on Robson, the Seymour location will seat up to 60 to 70 people (which includes seating on a heated and covered year-round patio).

The bigger premises aren't the only change, though—the menu will also correspondingly expand.

"The new location is much larger…so it gives us lots of opportunities to be a bit more creative in terms of what we're going to offer," Dierckx said. "It's still going to be all around waffles…but the toppings [such as chocolate, fruits, and ice cream] we will offer and the dishes we will create are going to be of an elevated level. It's going to be focused on sweet waffles, on authenticity, because we try to be as authentic as possible. So don't think about breakfast or brunch when you think waffles because that's a very North American way of thinking."

Another difference Dierckx pointed out is that the Seymour location will focus on evening and late-night service, which will be complemented by a new liquor license that will allow them to pair cocktails with waffles.

In spite of the changes, he said he hopes to maintain the gathering-spot feel of the original location that he opened four years ago and runs with his wife.

"We still want people to know that it still will feel like Nero and the original atmosphere we tried to create around that," he said.

Although he hasn't determined a specific opening date, he is aiming for mid-May.