The regulars gush about the place. They tell their friends to venture over to the northwest corner of St. George and 28th Avenue, where they’ll find the loveliest café-general store. It’s French-inspired with lovely food products, freshly baked pastries and quiches and crepes on offer. And it’s stunningly beautiful, styled with a careful and skilled hand. On the shelves, handmade ceramics are displayed alongside dish soap and fancy bitters. It’s called LeMarché St. George.
In 2010, Janaki Larsen and Pascal Roy bought a weathered 1904 Vancouver building with four suites in “the middle of nowhere.” One of the suites had a license for a neighbourhood grocery store, and Janaki and Pascal had visions of opening their own café in the building. At first, “People thought we were absolutely crazy,” says Pascal. But ultimately, he gently boasts, “we’ve proven them wrong.” The neighbourhood embraced the café immediately, and today Le Marché teems with young families, curious tourists and food and coffee lovers.