Beta5 2.0: A sneak peek inside the new Beta5 Chocolates cafe in Vancouver

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      It’s been a long time coming, but the award-winning Beta5 Chocolates (413 Industrial Avenue) is finally ready to open up its new location on Saturday (November 16)—right next door at 409 Industrial Avenue.

      The artisan chocolate shop has been known for its inventive confections, and signature line of cream puffs that are also offered in rotating, seasonal flavours.

      The 16-seat, 900-square-foot space is a far cry from its original retail establishment. For starters, guests will be able to sit down and enjoy their treats, and its new beverage program will offer 49th Parallel Coffee, as well as mocha and hot chocolate made with Beta5’s own chocolates.

      A highlight of the new cafe is an expansive, L-shaped refrigerated countertop that houses all the goods: chocolates, cream puffs, and custom pastries in the near future. Unlike its old retail space, customers will be able to ogle at its droolworthy and photogenic sweets.

      A temperature-regulated countertop houses all the chocolates.
      Tammy Kwan

      Colourful Bocci lights hang from the ceiling, which is complemented by Beta5’s pastel-coloured polygon mural by artist Scott Sueme.

      “We've had them [Bocci lights] for seven years in our lunch room next door,” Adam Chandler, owner and pastry chef at Beta5 Chocolates, told the Straight in an interview at the new establishment. “Now we can kind of show them off properly after they’ve been hiding upstairs for so long.”

      Colourful Bocci lighting and a custom mural add character to the minimalist space.
      Tammy Kwan

      Chandler and partner Jessica Rosinki have been on the hunt for a new space for the past few years, because its retail storefront was never meant to be a permanent, customer-facing location.

      “This was an opportunity for us to really think through what we want the customers experience to be how we want to interact with them, [and] how we want them to interact with the product,” explained Chandler. “This feels more like how we've kind of always envisioned the Beta5 concept that we imagined it to be. It’s rewarding.”

      The opening of the new cafe comes just ahead of the holiday season, which means new holiday cream puff flavours will be in stock. Guests can expect to find new creations like strawberry-milk tea, pavlova, and matcha-sesame cream puffs.

      Cream puffs ready to be bought and eaten.
      Tammy Kwan

      Festive chocolates like a limited-edition Rudolph’s head chocolate centerpiece, chocolate black coals, and peppermint barks will also be available at the new brick-and-mortar shop.

      “We're excited to give people space to come in and sit down and sort of enjoy what we've created with the food, the space, and also the experience with that,” added Chandler. “I think that’s the big thing for me. It feels like Beta5 is a little bit more grown up now.”

      Scroll through the photos below for a first look inside the highly anticipated dessert digs.

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan

       

      Tammy Kwan
      Follow Tammy Kwan on Twitter @ch0c0tam and Instagram @ch0c0tam.

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