Coffee is brewing again at a North Vancouver cafe nearly four months after an atmospheric river hammered the area, causing extensive damage.
Caf/EH in Deep Cove quietly reopened Wednesday morning, serving coffee and freshly baked treats to appreciative customers. As some patrons trickled in and out to get their goodies on the go, others sat typing away on their laptops inside the nicely repaired space.
Iris Blanchett, general manager of the cafe, is thrilled to finally be open again.
“It was nice to be back in there,” Blanchett said after her first day back. “For sure, it was quiet and somewhat to be expected between the weather and we didn’t advertise that we were opening.”
The Deep Cove cafe was just one of the businesses affected by the atmospheric river that swept through the Lower Mainland, leading to floods across the North Shore in October of last year. In only three days, 292 millimetres of precipitation was recorded.
Water quickly filled Caf/EH reaching ankle height on Saturday, Oct. 20, causing damage to the walls, bathroom, outside doors and to the fridge and freezer. It got so intense that two baristas had to be saved by rope by members of District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.
Blanchett said that the bottom 20 inches of drywall had to be removed from the entire cafe, including the bathroom, and her wall sockets were fried by the water.
Luckily the building's owners had insurance covering staff wages and most of the damages, Blanchett said. After the storm, Blanchett and another staff member helped clean the outside of the building that was covered in branches, wood and rocks.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, as Blanchett said she waited a while to hear back from the insurance company.
“I wanted to get back in there as soon as I could, but when you’re not getting any responses to your question of a timeline, what else can you do?” Blanchett said.
She heard back from the insurance company Dec. 28, and shortly after Blanchett and her daughter Sophia Lucero started preparing for the cafe's reopening.
People have been sharing support on social media since the cafe announced their reopening. Regulars have noticed too, including North Vancouver resident Jessie Stanley.
“I’m really glad that it’s back, because I love Iris’s home-baked goods,” Stanley said. “I’m happy that the business has recovered, because I know that it was a big blow that the floods took them out along with a few of the other businesses on the street.”
Blanchett’s experience resonated with Stanley, as her own basement flooded during the storm, forcing her to navigate the insurance process.
She also appreciates the cafe as a comfortable space for accommodating tiny children, as that can be hard to come by, Stanley said.
“It’s comfortable for moms and little ones, which isn’t always the case with restaurants,” she said.
Since the cafe's closure in October, they lost three staff due to the uncertainty of when they would reopen, Blanchett said. But moving forward, Blanchett hopes to hire a barista or two to get things back to normal.
She said her experiences over the years have helped her become resilient and adaptable.
"You can’t worry about something you can’t control, right?” Blanchett said. “We’re happy and looking forward to seeing everybody come make their way back.”
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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