A Whistler-born bakery chain plans to buy a Vancouver coffee chain that’s been pouring since 1999, in a deal that would create 27 locations.
Purebread Brands, the company behind Purebread, announced on October 9 that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Caffè Artigiano’s cafe business, including its corporate and franchise operations in Canada.
It isn’t a done deal yet.
The two sides still need to finish due diligence and sign final agreements, and the deal needs TSX Venture Exchange acceptance plus shareholder, lender and landlord approvals.
Together, the companies would run 16 company-operated locations and 11 franchised ones.
Artigiano brings 9 company-run cafes, an 11-location franchise network and 7 more locations in its development pipeline, while Purebread operates seven bakery cafes across BC.
Purebread would pay entirely in its own shares, about 61.6 million of them at 12.5 cents each, for a value of roughly $7.7 million.
That works out to 49% of Purebread Brands after closing, so Artigiano’s owners wouldn’t be cashing out so much as owning almost half of the company that bought them.
“Artigiano is a natural fit for our family of brands,” said Christian Bullock, Purebread Brands’ CEO.
Dean Shillington, Artigiano’s president and CEO, said the two share “the same instinct: do the simple things exceptionally well and stay true to the product.”
No changes to either chain’s cafes have been announced.
What the companies do spell out is the baking: a bigger cafe network would put more of Purebread’s central bakery production to use and widen the distribution of Purebread products.
Purebread started as a stall at the Whistler Farmers’ Market before opening its first shop in Function Junction, and it became part of a publicly traded company when Coho Collective Kitchens bought it in 2023, later renaming itself Purebread Brands.
Artigiano started on Hornby Street and calls itself “a pioneer of Canada’s coffee culture,” and in January 2025 it bought Salt Spring Coffee, according to Retail Insider.
The two have agreed to negotiate only with each other until December 15, and more details are promised once final agreements are signed.
Both chains have trimmed a Vancouver location this year, with Purebread’s West 4th closure in Kitsilano in March and Artigiano’s Main Street closure in September, while three downtown Starbucks stores also shut down.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Caffe Artigiano:
Purebread:
Google decides which local food news you see. Tell it you want Noms
One tap adds Noms Magazine as a preferred source. No signup, no email.