Artigiano has opened a new flagship location in Vancouver under a new concept and has plans to expand. The brand’s new concept includes an evening program starting at 4pm where it will provide food and drinks to fill a gap in Vancouver’s evening dining scene.
The new Vancouver flagship is in Yaletown as it was chosen to reestablish Artigiano’s presence in this area of the city. This location will be the first to include the new Artigiano bar evening concept, offering both daytime cafe service and will transform into a European inspired bar at 4pm. The Yaletown location allows the brand to showcase its coffee program, food offerings, and the new evening experience all in one place.
“This is the future of Artigiano, and Yaletown is the perfect location to kickstart this exciting new direction for the brand. We wanted to ensure that we channeled an Italian aperitivo atmosphere with great drinks, light snacks, and a fun ambiance for our guests to enjoy right in the heart of their city. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to enjoy a daytime coffee or an evening drink,” says Dean Shillington, president and owner of Artigiano.
“With the evening concept, at 4pm it turns into a European inspired aperitivo bar. We feature hand-rolled pizzas, small plates and desserts, with a selection of specialty cocktails and Italian wines with all bottles being 50 per cent off daily between four to six pm. Our signature cocktails include the espresso martini and negronis made with Artigiano private reserve espresso, the Aperol Spritz, and a smooth Earl Grey Sour made with our organic tea.”
Local support – murals and live music
As part of its rebranding, Shillington says the brand will also be supporting local artists by showcasing live music and entertainment.
“As part of our rebrand, we do these murals in each of our cafes to really be inspired by the local community around it, and we always use local artists to go do these murals. Our cups now feature these murals too, showcasing the local art done in each of our cafes. We believe this truly adds to our space and also highlights local talent. I like talking about this as it showcases the local artists and programs we have to try and raise funds for local artists.” “At the same time with this bar concept, we are tapping into live music and entertainment as much as possible. So as we go forward, I look forward to getting more involved in the music community as well, giving them another stage to showcase their talent to our customers.”
This new approach allows Artigiano to support the local art scene while creating a unique atmosphere that reflects each community it’s in.
Check out the latest Yaletown views in downtown Vancouver at the SideSignal Collective.
Expansion plans moving forward
“Our goal this year is to add five new locations for the system, so Yaletown is the first of those with more coming in the second half of the year. We have been working hard to revitalize the brand in the Vancouver market. We are expanding into the Lower Mainland quite aggressively, and we have locations on Vancouver Island and Calgary, with plans to go beyond our provinces over the coming 12 months.”
Shillington says there will be three program variations: A purely cafe program where the cafe will have a focus on coffee and food offerings, Artigiano bar concept such as the new Yaletown location, and a partial bar concept where it will be offering a mix of daytime cafe and evening bar services.
“When I first purchased the brand four or five years ago, it seemed like an obvious opportunity to us to build our loyal customers, something different, and something that we felt was going to be a good alignment. The folks who come to us over the years are less likely to be looking for a club scene – they want to have a very chill environment to go to and enjoy some live music, go somewhere in the community that feels more likely, and have some good food. We really saw an important opportunity for us and we just don’t see anything like it.”
Sitings Realty Ltd. has been working with Artigiano for its real estate needs.
Artigiano’s new flagship in Yaletown is a great new spot in Vancouver. Their idea of turning the cafe into a European-style bar in the evenings is a smart way to offer more options to customers. Supporting local artists with murals and live music adds a nice community feel. I’m excited to see how this will change the city’s dining scene and can’t wait to visit for both coffee and evening drinks. Great job to Dean Shillington and the team for this exciting new direction!