United Strangers in North Vancouver is celebrating its first year of bringing together the Blueridge community and highlighting local suppliers.
Located in what was once the Seymour Heights Store which had sat empty for 20 years, owners Christine and Joe Reid revived the space and created a coffee shop and corner store that features locally baked goods, grocery and retail from local merchants.
“We saw an opportunity to bring our strength of coffee and retail together to do a cool play on the corner store,” Christine Reid says.
“Especially during the pandemic when local suppliers were really struggling without markets. We started to focus on bringing that local vibe to our corner store.”
The Reids concentrated on building relationships with local suppliers to be able to offer locally made gifts and foodstuffs alongside their exceptional coffee.
“We are in an amazing community on the North Shore that was very underserved for a long time,” Reid says.
“We wanted to provide coffee and local groceries to folks.”
United Strangers marked its first anniversary on July 10 with a festival market that brought together local vendors and raised funds for the local community garden.
They hope that as restrictions change, they’ll be able to host workshops and events.
“We’re more than just your local coffee shop. Coming and having a coffee with us contributes back to the community,” Reid says.
“Everyone right now is craving connection and
Making connections is what United Strangers is all about, and the inspiration for the shop’s name.
“All of the people in our lives have once been strangers. We wanted to create a space to bring the community together,” Reid says.
“United Strangers comes from bringing people together. I hope when our customers leave, they can leave having been connected to something, not just a cup of coffee — though our coffee is really, really good too.”
To learn more and to order for in-store pickup, visit www.unitedstrangerscoffee.com.
