⭐️ 10+ New & Closing: Longtime HK Cafe Opens In Richmond

Gooooodmorning there!

Here’s your April 24th local guide to what’s new, what’s gone, and what to do this week across Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond.

This week in 30 seconds
🥟 Fresh Drops: the newest openings
💔 Heartbreaks: the spots that said goodbye
💸 Deals Desk: discounts worth actually leaving the house for
📌 The Bulletin Board: your event plans

Start here: Fresh Drops 👇

👀 FRESH DROPS

Spots opened or are opening soon

🍰 Longtime HK-style cafe expands to Richmond - Cafe Gloucester just soft opened its Alexandra Road location on April 21 and the room has been packed every day since.

🧋 "Best frappe in the UK" claims a closed Robson Street spot - Chayan is taking over the recently shuttered Lattea unit, its first downtown outpost and second in BC.

🍜 Thai rice mill bar lands on Main Street - Rongsi just opened in the old Mojo Cantina unit with a late-night happy hour.

☕ Popular Japanese cafe reveals its Mount Pleasant roastery - Oide Labo is landing at 1886 Scotia Street with a full bakery program attached.

☕ New coffee bar opens across from Oakridge - Sphere Coffee Bar fills a gap in the neighbourhood cafe scene this May.

🍗 Korean fried chicken joint quietly opens in Steveston - Korean Hot Chicken took over the former Win Win Chick-N unit on 1st Avenue with 8 flavours to try.

🍰 A TINY all-tiramisu shop hits Kingsway - Tiramisu Republic just opened in a 500 sq ft Burnaby storefront with six rotating flavours made in-house daily.

🍦 Sunshine Coast ice cream favourite opens a permanent Vancouver shop - Little Spoons Ice Cream just soft opened its first permanent city location on West Broadway in Kitsilano.

🍞 Richmond's low-sugar Asian bakery locks in a second location - Unique Bakery announced its Union Square outpost with free bread giveaways happening now.

🍕 Vancouver pizzeria chain expands to North Van - Ignite Pizzeria announced a 5th location at 101 Lonsdale Avenue in the Beasley Block, opening spring 2026.

🍵 Beloved matcha pop-up announces a permanent shop - Emeri, the viral rotating matcha bar, is opening on Main Street in Mount Pleasant this summer after sampling nearly 300 matchas.

🥣 A Chinese congee spot slides into Admiralty Centre - Mui Hung Kee Foods just soft opened in Richmond's food court with a big menu.

🍶 Japanese all-you-can-eat izakaya lands on Richmond's Food Street - Tenichi Izakaya is joining the Alexandra Rd lineup this spring.

👉 See more Fresh Drops here.

🌸 Cherry Blossom Food Fest Keeps Blooming!

Get your spring outfits ready!

The 3rd annual Vancouver Cherry Blossom Food Festival is officially back until May 3 and it is our biggest yet!

This spring, we’re featuring 27 vendors and over 70 spring-themed items for you to try!

Vendors include: Beaucoup Bakery, Matcha Cafe Maiko, Trafiq, Whisk Matcha Cafe, Fufu Pancake, and more!

You can check the full vendor and item line up at the official festival site.

And like previous festivals, the Passport and Mission activities return! Yes, that means every festival item purchase will grant you stamps and entries to the tiered sweepstake and prize pool!

The Gacha Machine that we debuted in Fall Food Fest is also here!

Purchase 2 festival items, and you get a coin to play the gacha machine. Inside the machine are various prizes like branded buttons, free festival items, and a rare prize!

But there are only 2 gacha machines, which will be rotating between the vendors every single week.

From Apr 24 - 30, you can find the machine at Boketto and EGGBOMB+ (note that the machine will arrive on April 24 around 2 PM - 3 PM)

🪦 GRAVEYARD

Spots that closed or are closing soon

🍜 A Malaysian restaurant closes after less than a year - Sedap Plus shut down in the former Tropika space on Cambie as a new tenant prepares to move in.

🧋 Robson loses a Taiwanese bubble tea spot after 18 months - Lattea quietly shut its downtown location, leaving the brand with just its Richmond flagship.

🥐 Swiss Bakery closes its UBC spot after two years - Swiss Bakery is officially done on campus, but the Mount Pleasant shop and catering side are still running.

👉 See all recent Heartbreaks here.

💰 DEALS DESK

Money-saving food deals

🥭 Free Merch and Mango BOGO at Alfa Tea — Buy one get one free all mango drinks; available April 24 only; first 300 customers get free tote bags.

🧋 Grand Opening BOGO at SunTea Lougheed — Buy one get one free on all drinks; available April 24–25; free tumblers or totes for first 200 guests.

🍰 Grand Opening Specials at Trees Coffee Kingsway — 15% off cheesecake, pastries, and handcrafted drinks; available until May 1; catch live music on April 25 and May 1.

🥖 BOGO Deals at Bánh Mì Très Bon — Buy one get one free favorites or free drinks; available daily; BOGO offer valid 3–5PM only.

🧋 20% Off Spring Specials at CoCo Bubble Tea — Refreshing matcha and fruit tea deals starting at $6; available until April 30; valid at 15 select locations.

🌯 Cheap Monday at Budgies Burritos - Enjoy $10 burritos and $3 beers every Monday; helps support local amidst Broadway closure

🗞️ FOOD NEWS

Things that happened around Metro Vancouver

🍸 Vancouver bars dominate best of list - Four local spots make North America’s 50 Best Bars, led by The Keefer Bar.

🔥 Award-winning Yaletown steakhouse temporarily closes - Elisa is closed for repairs following a rooftop fire.

⚠️ Massive 7-Eleven sandwich recall - CFIA recalls 16 products, including the Japanese egg sandwich, over Listeria concerns.

🗓️ THE BULLETIN BOARD

Our curated events calendar

🌸 [FESTIVAL] Vancouver Cherry Blossom Food Festival (Mar 20 - May 3) - Month-long self-guided festival with cherry blossom-inspired food from 27 vendors; @ across Metro Vancouver

☕ [EVENT] Montreal Coffee Cupping by Slothee Coffee (April 25) - guided tasting session exploring flavor profiles of Montreal’s coffee scene; @ La Marzocco Canada; TICKETED

🛍️ [EVENT] Vancouver Spring Bloom Artisan Market (April 24 - 26) - curated market featuring handmade crafts, jewelry, and local artisan gifts; @ Jack Poole Plaza; FREE

🧺 [FESTIVAL] Vancouver Spring Makers Market & Food Festival (April 24 - 26) - waterfront celebration with local makers, food trucks, and live entertainment; @ David Lam Park; FREE

🥧 [POP UP] Coyote’s Cafe Pop Up (April 4 - 26) - nostalgic Aussie diner serving meat pies and Melbourne-style specialty coffee; @ 1945 Manitoba St

🎪 [MARKET] Richmond Night Market (April 24 - Sept 20) - it’s that time again! The Night Market is back with more than 100 food booths to try!

🗓️ Check out more events happening in Metro Vancouver here.