Bicycle Powered Tag

Andres Zapata and James Mieu are the creators behind Birdies, a Peruvian-inspired ghost kitchen serving up succulent chicken and sides from their commissary space in Strathcona.

Birdies is a new project that sprouted from the duo’s catering venture, Oui Chef Catering. Serving up delicious chicken, sides and their specialty beverage chicha, Birdies’ recipes have been meticulously developed drawing from the pair’s experience working in high-end restaurants both here in Vancouver and abroad. 

Hoping to expand their menu soon, Birdies’ simple menu is anything but ordinary. Their birds are beer-brined for a day before they’re drenched in a pepper marinade and grilled on flaming hot charcoals. Their fries are spiced to perfection and their chimichurri and sauces will no doubt have you coming back for more.

Learn more about the founders of Birdies below and find their menu online through Doordash.

Tell us a little bit about your brand and what you do.

Birdies Charcoal Grill specializes in serving barbecue-style chicken using true-to-style techniques from various global gastronomic cultures. Our initial menu consists of a Peruvian-style charcoal chicken known as Pollo a la Brasa that gets served with aji criollo (a Peruvian amarillo pepper sauce), chimichurri, and chicha (a Peruvian purple corn drink created by the Andean community). We wanted to use Birdies as a way to highlight our culinary backgrounds while serving the community something unique and delicious. As we continue with Birdies we will add more flavours and styles to our menu paying homage to our heritage and the local Vancouver food culture.

How did your love for cooking begin and when did you decide to turn your passion into a business?

Where in Strathcona are you based and what makes this neighbourhood special to you?

We are located in the B3 Collective Commissary Kitchen on the corner of East Hastings Street and Vernon Street. Strathcona has been an ideal environment for us. There are a lot of creative and cool small businesses around the neighbourhood which gives us vision and confidence for future growth. We love the hard-working energy of our colleagues in our commissary kitchen as well and are lucky to be a part of a supportive small business community.

How does your work impact the community?

Since we are still pretty new our impact hasn’t been too deep. Asides from offering tasty treats we hope that over time we will grow to become a known part of the community. We are always interested in engaging in local events and promoting our working neighbourhood.

Where can we find you?

You can find us at the B3 Collective, on Instagram @birdiesyvr, and on DoorDash.

Interested in meeting more Strathcona makers? Learn more about Orii Jewelry, Yardi Grabz, Living Lotus Chocolate and Awesome Sauce Designs.

Rory and Diana are the business owners of Scavenger Coffee, a unique bicycle transported business that doubles as a traveling coffee stand, based right here in Strathcona.

Drawing from Diana’s love of bicycles as well as her experience in the cargo-bike delivery industry, the pair started their coffee business during the beginning of the pandemic. A challenging obstacle to their original business plan has led them to find their community at a number of Vancouver Farmer’s Markets as well as festivals, weddings and other events.

Learn more about Rory and Diana’s story below.

Tell us a little bit about your brand and what you do.

Rory: Scavenger Coffee is a mobile coffee shop, pulled behind a bicycle. Our cart is handmade, by us, from local and scavenged materials. Our espresso is hand-pulled, on our 1970s Italian espresso machine.

We launched just before the pandemic, and it’s been an interesting ride since then figuring out ways to survive. We thought we’d made it when we got a Downtown operating permit for the corner of Robson & Granville St starting on March 1st, 2020… but we’re fortunate to be flexible and we pivoted to operating in neighborhood parks so we could serve people working from home.

Now we have a happy mix of farmer’s markets, private events, festivals, and sunny days at the park.

How did your love for coffee begin and when did you decide to turn your passion into a business?

Diana: I’ve always loved coffee, but it was my passion for bikes that inspired me to start a business. I worked for Shift Delivery, which is a cargo bike delivery co-op, a few years ago. They had such a great community and really showed me the potential of a bike-based business. They inspired me to combine my love of coffee culture with my passion for bikes and start a business.

Where in Strathcona are you based and what makes this neighbourhood special to you?

Diana: We feel really lucky to live and work in Strathcona. It’s a 2 minute commute to our kitchen space, which is tucked under the Powell St overpass. My admiration for the community that coffee can bring was fostered in no small part by some of our neighborhood mainstays, like the Wilder Snail and the Union Market. Those spots are just a couple of examples of the many reasons why I love this neighborhood.

How does your work impact the community?

Diana: By operating a small business exclusively from a bicycle, we hope to inspire folks, and shift the city towards being more bike-centric, active, and community-oriented.

Rory: People love to see crazy things being pulled by a bicycle, and no one believes us at events when we tell them that yes, we did bike it here. I like to think that we open some people’s eyes to what you can do with a bicycle. It’s such a great way of getting around Vancouver.

Where can we find you?

Diana: On the weekends we’ll be bouncing around the Riley Park, Kitsilano, West End and Trout Lake Farmers Markets all summer long: April 30th – Oct 30th. We’re also really excited that festivals, events, and weddings are happening again this summer! We’re still filling our schedule, but we’ll be posting our location on our Instagram @scavengercoffee.

You can also learn more about Scavenger Coffee at www.scavengercoffee.com

Interested in meeting more Strathcona makers? Learn more about Orii Jewelry, Yardi Grabz, Living Lotus Chocolate and Awesome Sauce Designs.