A Starbucks went dark on the curved glass corner at Yukon Street.
The espresso machines came back anyway.
Pallet Coffee Roasters has recently opened at 2035 Yukon Street in Olympic Village, taking over the unit the chain left behind.
It is Pallet’s eighth cafe.
We covered this one in April, when a Noms Magazine community member spotted the coming-soon signage in the window.
The doors opened in early July.
Floor-to-ceiling glass wraps the whole corner in a curve, so the light comes in from two directions and the cafe reads much bigger than its footprint.
Bags of Pallet beans line the shelves behind the espresso machines, and there is a wall of labelled hoppers above the bar.
Seating splits between window-rail stools looking out at the street, small round cafe tables, and a long communal table with plants on it.
The drink board is short enough to read from the door, which is its own kind of statement.
Espresso with milk covers the full run, macchiato, cortado, flat white, cappuccino, latte and mocha.
The black-coffee side keeps a long black, a cold brew, and a hand pour over on the list rather than treating filter as an afterthought.
Off the coffee entirely there is a London fog, a chai latte and a matcha latte.
Tea gets six options of its own, including milk oolong, imperial jasmine green, blueberry white peony, and strawberry mint, which is more range than most cafes bother carrying.
The pastry case is doing more than the usual croissant-and-muffin routine.
Alongside the croissants there are banana and blueberry passionfruit muffins, a sun-dried tomato scone, and strawberry chocolate and walnut chocolate cookies, each sitting on its own labelled wire rack.
Pallet is a Vancouver operation rather than an import, which is part of why this particular swap reads the way it does.
It started in 2014 as a roasting business and grew into one of the more recognizable local coffee names, spreading across neighbourhoods one shop at a time.
Now it has the corner a global chain gave up.
Pallet Coffee Olympic Village joins other recently opened Vancouver food spots like Krave Kulture at the Coal Harbour marina, Amber in Gastown, and Bloom Bakery & Cafe.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: 2035 Yukon Street, Vancouver BC