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Let one of these Strathcona catering companies take over the cooking for your holiday parties or winter gatherings.

We’re so lucky to have a plethora of amazing catering companies working right here in Strathcona. Getting ready to plan your holiday dinners and gathering but don’t want to cook? Let one of these delicious businesses take on the heavy lifting and impress your guests at the same time.

You’ll find a range of unique bites from all of the businesses listed below – keep reading to discover 5 Strathcona catering companies to consider this holiday.

@railtowncaters

With holiday season around the corner, trust Railtown for all of your catering needs!

Whether you are planning a party with friends, a long-awaited office celebration, or are looking for a stress free holiday dinner for the family, Railtoen Caters has memorable and delicious offerings to make your celebration the highlight of the year.

Choose from a selection of canapes, platters and seasonal menus suitable for all of your entertainment needs.

railtowncatering.ca

@savourychef

Nothing tastes better than market-fresh produce, locally farmed meats and sustainably sourced seafood. Fresh, local and seasonal ingredients in every dish –  and Savoury Chef is dedicated to featuring the very best that B.C. has to offer.

From carefully planning, tasting and custom-creating menus with each client to offering connections to a network of industry partners and event resources, Savoury Chef is a true one-stop shop, as well as a preferred catering vendor to a number of Vancouver’s premier event venues.

See what they have to offer this season for holiday meals.

savourychef.com

@cocktailscanapes

Cocktails & Canapés specialize in creating a one-of-a-kind innovative experience. With an abundance of catering services and menus and no shortage of creativity, they bring something special to the table every time.

Offering canapés, fine-plated menus, family style meals, graze menus and more you’ll find everything you need for a unique holiday meal right here.

cocktailsandcanapes.com

@yardiegrabz

Yardie Grabz specializes in homestyle grab & go Jamaican food – from Jamaican Patties to BBQ Jerk Chicken, Oxtail Stew & much more! Sticking to their Caribbean roots, their love for homestyle and natural foods remains.

Cooking with halal meats, fresh produce and traditional Jamaican spices and herbs Yardie Grabz uses the freshest and most natural ingredients.

Searching for tasty food to compliment a team lunch, holiday gathering or festive meal? Yardie Grabz provides catering for all clients of any size and circumstance. 

yardiegrabz.ca

For an extensive list of Strathcona businesses visit our business directory here. 

Vancouver has so many great places to grab a cup – here are the best coffee shops in Strathcona.

Strathcona is filled with exceptional coffee roasters and cozy cafes serving up great cups of coffee with incredible ambiance. Here you can find everything from in-house roasters to perfectly pulled espresso to the loveliest of latte art. It’s truly a coffee connoisseur’s dream *insert heart-eye emojis here*.

Some of Vancouver’s best coffee shops live in the heart of Strathcona. We’re proud to have almost a dozen unique and inviting cafes in our little neighbourhood alone. You will find exceptional blends and delicious aromas from locally-owned coffee shops and cafes. Each space represents a little piece of the heart and soul of Strathcona.

However, it doesn’t stop there. If java isn’t your thing, rest assured you can find plenty of delicious snacks, lunch items, teas, and tonics as well – something for everyone!

Here’s a full list of Strathcona’s best places to find coffee and more.

@oidecoffee

From the folks behind the former Gastown coffee stand Iktsuarpok Coffee Stand, Oidé Coffee took over the old Agro Roasters on Clark Drive this past Spring. According to their Instagram, they are still in their soft opening phase however you can still enjoy delicious coffee, teas and baked goods from Thursday to Sunday.

550 Clark Dr.

Hours:

Thurs – Sun: 10am – 4pm

Mon – Wed: Closed

@coastedencafe

They consider themselves more than a cafe. Eden is a social enterprise dedicated to providing the DTES with great coffee and food. They strive to provide a welcoming space for people from all walks of life.

643 East Hastings Street

Hours: Mon – Thurs: 8am – 4:30pm

Sat: 8am – 2pm

Sun: Closed

@thegardenstrathcona

The Garden is top of the list for aesthetically pleasing cafes in Strathcona. Aside from delicious coffee they also have amazing food, a curated retail section, and an entire banquet space that is rentable to the public.

868 E Hastings St. 

Hours: Mon – Sun: 9 am – 4 pm

@palletcoffee

There are few calmer vibes than the ones you experience walking into Pallet Coffee’s Strathcona location. High ceilings and wonderful daytime light make this Powell St. cafe one of our favourites to sit and stay awhile. You can also score their locally roasted beans to take home or order them online.

395 Alexander St. 

Hours: Mon – Fri: 8 am – 3 pm

Sat – Sunday: Closed

@riseupmarketplace

Rise Up Marketplace is a wonderful community gathering place where neighbourhood folks pop by for morning pick-me-up or come to settle in for a quiet lunch break. You can find freshly baked goods, yummy lunch specials, and of course a fine cup of coffee.

704 Vernon Dr.

Hours: Mon – Fri: 9 am – 6pm

Sat – Sun: 9 am – 4 pm

@prototype.coffee

Considered a micro-roastery Prototype is a unique space where you can find a perfectly designed roasting bar and brewing station all in one. The result is one fantastic cup of coffee. You’ll also find take-home beans, cold brews and best waffle-donut hybrid treat.

883 Hastings St.

Hours: Mon – Fri: 8 am – 4 pm

Sat – Sun: 9 am – 5 pm

@scavengercoffee

This quaint little coffee cart lives in Strathcona but can be found at various farmer’s markets, parks and events throughout the city serving hand-pulled espresso and a variety of tea-based drinks.

Various locations and times

@railtowncafe

Upon entering the Railtown Cafe the inviting smells of home-cooked comfort food will instantly tell you that this is so much more than a coffee shop. Serving local Moja beans Railtown Cafe is also not a place to sleep on when it comes to a coffee. We just recommend you arrive hungry.

397 Railway St. 

Hours: Mon – Fri: 8 am – 6 pm

Sat – Sun: 10 am – 4 pm

For an extensive list of Strathcona businesses visit our business directory here. 

Strathcona is a hub for creative agencies of all kinds.

From branding and marketing to VFX and animation there are so many unique businesses to discover that work within this space. 

You can find at least a dozen businesses located in our Vancouver neighbouhood that can get the job done for almost all of your creative needs. Keep reading for an extensive list of creative agencies in Strathcona – we hope you discover something new!

If you are a creative agency in Strathcona and would like to be added to the list please contact info@strathconabia.com

weareskeletoncrew.ca

A creative studio specializing in brand and communications. Whether they’re building a brand from the ground up, or creating a campaign that makes one famous, crafting ideas that have real depth and relevance is what puts wind in their sails.

mondaycreative.co

Brand and marketing strategists, writers, and designers who’ve honed their craft at fast-moving direct-to-consumer brands and agencies. They’ve come together to help boundary-pushing performance brands reach new heights. 

burnkit.com

Burnkit is brand and digital. Driven by ideas, inspired by technology, and passionate about elevating design, they are a creative studio that works with best-in-class brands across a variety of sectors and industries. They provide services for interactive, brand development, graphic identity, packaging and print design.

form3.com

At Form3, industrial designers work together with product engineers, resulting in a powerful union of technical and aesthetic expertise. They share a passion for design and a desire to make the world a better place through long-lasting, high-quality products. Their diverse team of international designers come from a mixture of disciplines, including Industrial Design, Product Design, and various engineering backgrounds.

wethecollective.com

We the Collective helps entertainment brands better understand, engage, and relate to youth audiences through digital experiences. They create fun, educational and immersive marketing experiences that are never about the hard sell, and always about connecting to the brand. Specializing in Video Games, Toys, Movies & Television, and Music. A digital-first creative agency.

higharchy.com

Brand builders, believers in the magic of an idea and driven to win. They are people who love what they do, where they do it and that their work is driven by purpose. They build and invest in cannabis brands that give back to people and the planet.

goldtooth.com

Goldtooth is an award-winning creative agency, production company, animation, live action and VFX studio, based in Vancouver, BC.

fuseinteractive.ca

A seasoned group of planners, designers & developers with years of experience making simple and complex websites & applications (and everything in between).

thebannermen.com

The Bannermen design banner ads for websites, social media & programmatic advertising campaigns. They are the digital display, MPU & rich media specialists. With offices in London, UK and Vancouver, Canada, they have not one but two offices ready to help you get your digital display campaigns out the door.

hotsoupgroup.com

Hot Soup Marketing Group is a vertically integrated network of creative teams, aligned to help you navigate today’s complex marketing systems. As a group, their mission is simple: they build relationships with clients to drive progress, process, and change. Hot Soup Marketing Group provides its clients with strategic marketing services, branding and campaign management. But more importantly, they believe in nurturing a relationship that fosters growth.

domain7.com

Domain7 is a change agency fostering innovation through people-centric methods. Their vision is to co-create a more empathetic world. They offer a holistic set of services to achieve meaningful organizational change, including digital transformation, facilitation and workshops, organization design, and digital civic engagement.

wearejunction.com

Junction builds digital from the inside out. Services include digital strategy, social media strategy, training program development, workshops, coaching, and team development.

Every week, Junction authors The Brief, a thoughtful email about what’s happening in digital, what you should (or shouldn’t) be paying attention to, and why it matters. Visit their website to learn more.

Yardie Grabz is Strathcona’s newest ghost kitchen making up delicious homestyle Jamaican food.

Their name combines “Yardie”, meaning Jamaican diaspora, and “Grabz” for their grab-and-go style foods. Yardie Grabz is located in a commissary kitchen in the heart of Strathcona offering authentic and homecooked dishes – like patties, oxtail, and jerk chicken – for curbside pickup, delivery, and catering.

We spoke to Dimitri, the founder and head-chef of Yardie Grabz, about his unique offerings for the city and the impact he makes as a Black business owner in Strathcona.

Read our interview below and place your Yardi Grabz orders at yardiegrabz.ca

We make classic Jamaican grab & go street food with a homestyle approach. From Jamaican Patties, Jerk Chicken to Oxtail, everything is handcrafted and made from scratch. We ensure we use only fresh quality local ingredients, halal and/or organic meats for every product, as we treat our customers and clients as if ourselves or our families are eating our food.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been a foodie and loved pastries, baked goods and anything sweet and savoury. My passion for cooking started when I was younger and I worked part-time jobs in the food industry when I was in high school and university. Throughout that time I worked my way up in positions and met a lot of cooks and chefs on the way that have influenced my style in cooking.

Yardie Grabz came to be from a craving for Jamaican Patties that I had during the COVID-19 lockdown. I wanted a patty so badly, but could not find any in Vancouver that truly represented the taste that I knew growing up. I came up with a recipe and tried cooking it for myself. I made them and posted them on social media, and from that moment family, friends and strangers started to message me if I could make patties for them. From then it’s only gone forward.

We’re based at 266 Raymur Avenue. It’s a cool neighbourhood because it is very industrial. The building we work directly in has multiple businesses around us, of different kinds. So it’s great to be working around creative and hard-working individuals in the community. It definitely adds to the fuel of the hustle.

I believe we impact the community in a positive and tasty way! We’re a go-to spot for locals in the East Van area and as well as Caribbean/African residents of Vancouver. As they too, had challenges to find authentic food that represents their culture and what they regularly eat.

We’re one of the very few Black-owned businesses in Strathcona, and one of the only few Jamaican food production companies in Vancouver – and the Lower Mainland at that. So It’s a blessing to merge my two cultural identities of Canada and Jamaica through food service while putting smiles on people’s faces.

How can we get our hands on some of your food?

You can find our products on our website www.yardiegrabz.ca

We provide wholesale service, catering and takeout and delivery on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays.

Our Jamaican Patties can also be found at our great vendors at New Amsterdam Cafe, Tony’s Coffee and Rise Up Marketplace (another great business in Strathcona.) We plan to provide our Jamaican Patties throughout more stores in Strathcona and throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, so be on the lookout for that. Any newly info can always be found our Instagram/Website @yardiegrabz or yardiegrabz.ca 

Visit our blog for more on our Maker of the Month series.

Living Lotus Chocolate specializes in decadent bean-to-bar chocolate, made in Strathcona, Vancouver.

Living Lotus Chocolate is the maker of bean-to-bar chocolate using ethically sourced ingredients. All of their products are made from organic ingredients and are refined sugar and gluten-free. 

We spoke to Audrey, the founder of Living Lotus Chocolate about her bean-to-bar method and how her products make an impact on the chocolate industry. Read our interview below and visit livinglotus.net to learn more about her products.

Bean to bar chocolate is chocolate that is made straight from the cacao bean. We take the cacao beans that have been through the post harvest processes in their native country and crack, winnow, grind and mold them into chocolate. We use beans that have been ethically sourced, procure organic and local ingredients and use coconut sugar as a sweetener. We have three standard bars in 70% Arriba Nacional Dark, 57% Oat Milk, and Blonde (Vegan White) Chocolate. We do limited releases and over the holidays we will have a Raspberry Dark chocolate bar and Mocha chocolate bar composed of Oat milk chocolate and coffee. 

How did you begin your journey with chocolate and how did you decide to turn your craft into a business?

We are located on Cordova street between Hawks and Heatley but we don’t have a storefront. If you go South on Hawks to Keefer four blocks you’ll bump into McLean Park. My father’s family had a house on Keefer before that park was built and my grandfather had a shoe repair shop on Main Street back in the day. 

We’ve always been a vegan company, and by adding bean to bar chocolate we get to source from the farmers who take so much care and attention to the cacao trees, harvesting, and fermenting the beans. This ensures we are truly a cruelty-free company.

Where can we find your products?

Our products can be found online at www.livinglotus.net

Visit our blog for more on our Maker of the Month series.

Awesome Sauce Designs specializes in stained glass art and workshops.

Corinne Leroux is the owner of Awesome Sauce Designs operating out of MakerLabs in Strathcona. She offers quirky, handmade art pieces (available to order on her Etsy shop) and teaches regular classes on how to make your own stained glass art. 

We stopped by her studio at 780 E Cordova St. to chat about her work and how she impacts her community – get to know Corinne below.

Tell us a little bit about your art and what you make.

I make stained glass art with a modern twist. I try and veer away from what people think of when they traditionally think of stained glass. My pieces focus on a more modern geometric style and the weird and whimsical.

How did you begin your journey with stained glass and how did you decide to turn your art into a business?

I’ve always been crafty and had many hobbies including learning to knit at the age of 6. Stained glass was one of many hobbies I tried, and I took a class at the Surrey Arts Centre in 2005, and then really loved it. I made more and more pieces and was giving them away to friends and family. I also had other things I was making – you can only have so much stained glass in your house – so I decided to combine all my hobbies into one business and start selling my work. This included things I had sewn, knit, greeting cards I designed, and stained glass, but eventually, the glass just took over all of it.

In 2015 after having lots of practice in the medium, and seeing that there were very limited places to learn this art, I started teaching stained glass classes in my studio.

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

My studio is based out of MakerLabs. It’s a really creative space, filled with other makers, that I find inspiring just to be in. There’s always an energy here that makes me excited to work on my art. I also love all the history in this neighbourhood seeing all the colourful historic buildings as well as the newer murals that have been painted in the last few years. I think it adds to that creative energy that we have in MakerLabs.

Where can we find your products?

I sell my work mostly on my Etsy shop, but I also accept commissions for custom work as well. My products and information about classes can be found on my website and inquiries about commissions can be emailed to hello@awesomesauceart.com.

Visit our blog for more on our Maker of the Month series.

It’s that wonderful time of year – time to start thinking about your holiday meal plan.

Can you believe we’ve already made it to October? The holidays are right around the corner and before you know it it will be time to start planning your family dinner.

We understand that some years you would rather spend time with loved ones than be cooking in the kitchen all day long. Or maybe that one aunt who decided to host this year isn’t always on point with the turkey. We’ve got you covered. A few Strathcona businesses are offering classic Thanksgiving meals fully loaded with all of the holiday favourites.

You’ll find everything from turkey, to the yummiest of sides and of course, sweet treats like pumpkin pie and bread pudding. Choose to have your meal delivered and enjoy the comfort of your own home or opt to dine in and leave the dishes to someone else.

Find a few places below that we would absolutely trust to kick our holiday dinner experience up a notch.

If turkey isn’t your thing here’s a full list of Strathcona’s incredible restaurants.

@RailtownCatering

railtowncatering.ca

Thanksgiving dinner from the comfort of your own home, all you need to do is heat, serve and enjoy. Railtown Catering is taking orders for pick up from October 9th – 11th and offers packages that will feed anywhere from 5 – 10+ guests. Don’t worry about dessert, that’s included too. Visit their website to place your order.

@BelgardKitchen

belgardkitchen.com

If you’re not trying to host this year let Belgard Kitchen take care of everything. Offering family-style turkey dinner with all of the fixins for $35 per person you can dine-in at Belgard Kitchen on October 11th but space is limited so reserve your table now.

@SavouryChef

savourychef.com

For parties small and large Savoury Chef has a beautifully curated meal with all of the Thanksgiving favs. Keeping it chill for the long weekend but still want to enjoy a holiday meal at home? They are offering a traditional turkey feast for as little as 2 people. No need to get dressed up but you should bring your appetite – this feast is stacked with delicious sides, dessert and of course, turkey. Order yours here.