The Commercial Drive unit that spent the last few years selling hot dogs and zero-proof drinks is changing hands.
We spotted signs for Chef Hyve, the Halal food hall that started on Kingsway back in 2021, is moving into 1111 Commercial Drive, the former home of The Drive Canteen.
An “Eat like a chef” graphic now fills the front window, a “Now Hiring” notice is taped to the glass, and the chefhyve logo sits over the old canteen frontage.
The Drive Canteen ran this address as a non-alcoholic bottle shop and snack counter, selling hot dogs, nachos, and zero-proof drinks before it quietly closed earlier this year.
It was a small piece of Drive lore in its own right, a project from the team behind DL Chicken alongside streetwear entrepreneur and art collector Zach Wilcox.
Its owners have said they are hunting for a new home, so this reads as a handoff rather than a full goodbye.
For Chef Hyve, this is the second Vancouver location and its first move outside the original Kingsway shop.
That original is where you can see what the group does.
It runs as a mini food hall staffed by local chefs, off a seasonal menu that changes through the year, and every menu there is 100% Halal rather than a single Halal station.
The Kingsway spread runs wider than the fast-casual label suggests.
It covers a Mediterranean food bar, artisan salads, gourmet fish and chips, and a dessert counter with a full waffle bar, and the most-ordered item there is the Crunchy Garlic Chicken Wrap.
The founding pitch is that fast-casual food can carry the same care and ingredients as fine dining.
There are two red seal chefs and more than twenty years of kitchen experience behind the concept, and the chefs cook in open kitchens so you can see where the food comes from.
What we do not have yet is anything specific to the Commercial Drive location.
There is no published menu for the new spot and no opening date, so it is not yet clear how much of the Kingsway lineup will carry over.
The window graphics and the hiring push point to a buildout in motion, but nothing on the storefront or the company’s channels commits to a day.
A Halal food hall taking over a closed snack bar is the kind of swap Commercial Drive has been making on repeat lately.
Chef Hyve Commercial joins a list of other spots working toward opening around Vancouver, including Sushi California on Seymour, Eggslut, and Ramen Danbo on Main.
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Address: 1111 Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC