The Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene

The PNE doesn't lack crowds on a sunny day

With the end of summer upon us there has always been one event that my family looks forward to, the opening of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). Co-author Erica Hill arrived and it was important to get her up on a trip that everyone makes at least once in their Vancouver lifetime.

The Superdog show, the pig races and those little mini-donuts are all tried and true traditions of the PNE, but can you find a good cup of coffee on the grounds of Vancouver’s longest running fair? To be honest, we weren’t all that hopeful about finding a good cup of coffee but thought, “Hey why not?” With the free admission on the first day we’d have some extra cash to do something else while walking between shows and events.

We decided to rate coffee on PNE’s grounds an out-of-10 scale. Please note that we are grading our experiences against other cafes on the grounds only.

We totally enjoy the PNE

So, we joined the long line of people to get in. Once we were first checked in we ventured to the show mart to look for any coffee retailers that might have a few things to sell us. We saw lots of sham-wow knock offs, ginzu knives and more than a few locations that sell fudge. But, no coffee.

We thought, “Hey, let’s ask guest services”. . . It was the first time I have been back since the demolition of the food pavilion.

“Ahh, there is coffee near the Coliseum and a bunch of concession stands, but I don’t know where the good coffee is. I don’t drink the stuff,” a very nice attendant said.

So we decided to stroll the street leading to the Coliseum and it wasn’t long until we found Jimmy’s Lunch, which proclaimed Good Coffee. How could we not try it?

Jimmy’s Lunch
“Don’t lose your slip”
$2.50
Boyd’s Coffee Service

We heard this place was the one to come for burgers, but came for the coffee.

We didn’t order lunch we were only here for the coffee, so we were never given a order slip but every employee, all 15 of them, asked, “Where is your slip?” But at the end of the line we were laughing about the lack of a slip. We got the coffee and all we could smell was the fried onions on the grill, something we hear Jimmy’s was famous for. They have been at the fair since the 1920s.

Well at $2.50 a cup we found Jimmy’s Lunch coffee burnt, devoid of any flavour and it could not be improved with any amount of cream or sugar. It could be said that the quality could only go up from there, and was horribly expensive for what we actually got. Neither of us even finished half of a cup. On the plus side, it had a really nice grassy seating area behind the stand. Just remember, do not lose your slip.

As we continued down the walkway to the Coliseum we found a very busy kiosk powered by espresso according to the side wall.

Cheyenne Coffee
“Best cup of the Day”
$2.25 – $2.50
Cherry Hill Coffee

Cheyenne Coffee has the only drinkable coffee on the fairgrounds

They were really moving behind the counter of this kiosk and four people were constantly running out to serve people.

“This was much more than I thought we would find here, they have an espresso maker and not the push button automatic machine I was expecting,” noted Erica.

Although I was concerned by the lack of crema on my Americano, I also wondered if the hot water was on top of the espresso, which dissipates the crema. We couldn’t see what was going on behind the counter.

“It lacks a real punch of flavour, which is only a result of under extraction, but really better then I was expecting to find at the PNE,” noted Robert.

After the coffee had cooled a bit it was a little more enjoyable and had some subtle notes and a sweet acidity. Erica enjoys more of a full body coffee than I, so she felt a little less satisfied. We did actually drink most of the beverages from this location as they have two locations on the grounds.

We then toured Hasting Race Track and sadly found Hastings Deli and Cappuccino bar closed. Erica really enjoyed the view from the grandstands and hopes to return to lose her money to the ponies. . . .

Continuing into Playland we thought we could find at least one coffee stand amongst the Hellevators, Rollercoasters and Midway Game. We did find a concession stand that sold coffee along with burgers and fries but the 15 person line up and the $2.75 a cup kept us at bay.

We basked in the warm goodness that is the PNE mini-donuts and we walked back to the PNE section of the fair only to find this cute little booth advertising independently home-roasted organic coffee. Needless to say we got our hopes up!

Earth Club Factory
“Shot time of minutes”
$3.50
Earth Club Factory Roasters

Earth Club Factory Kiosk, we should have kept on walking

We showed up and found a three-group machine and everything at this cafe other than the unknown roaster said this was going to be a great cup of coffee. But once again our hopes were dashed in a big way. First there was a price difference between a 12 oz. cappuccino and 12 oz. latte by .25 cents. Why? The other thing was we saw the shots running very slowly but yet got our drinks extremely quickly. This proves that just because a coffee shop offers organic, fair trade, small batch roasted coffee doesn’t mean it is any good.

“This cappuccino has no taste. It is watery milk and the milk is burnt,” concluded Erica.

Although my cappuccino was slightly better tasting espresso there was barely half an inch of foam on either drink.

Hopes dashed we threw out the drinks and went to watch some pig races, which were quite popular. With barely an inch of space to be found, after the pig races we went to get some real food and found a French crepe’s place near Jimmy’s Lunch. It was the best crepes we have ever had and the best value bar none at the fair.

Full of junk food, legs weary from scouring the entire grounds and tired from the crowds of people we left the 99th annual PNE and came to the conclusion that although they had some definite room for improvement Cheyenne Coffee was the only place to go once on the ground of the PNE.

I have no idea how the food vending application process worked for the PNE or what type of revenue sharing occurs, but if JJ Bean, Salt Spring, 49th or Wicked ever decided to put a kiosk in the PNE they would certainly give the current vendors a run for their money!

Footnote: I was riding home and saw a number of people walking from the Starbucks on Kaslo with trays of drinks to the fairgrounds, understanding that yes that is certainly your second option.