Dear Editor
I was saddened this morning when I hiked up to SFU and found that my favourite coffee house (Renaissance) was closing’s the doors on June 27.
We’ve been coming to this coffee house since 2006 when Parmindar Singh Parhar opened his doors to the public. At that time, UniverCity was not all that populated and it must have been a risk opening on University High Street. However, he did and for nine years he served us free trade organic coffee, delicious homemade baked goods and great paninis, all at very reasonable prices.
Forward to 2015 and UniverCity is expanding at a rapid rate and I imagine Mr. Parhar’s corner location lease must have skyrocketed. I was told by one of the staff that the lease was the reason he was closing his shop. And who is moving in? We’ll if you guessed Starbucks, you’re right. Will we be able to get the value that we got at Renaissance? Most likely not.
At Renaissance we received a great coffee and a homemade muffin for $3. It’s sad that the small independents are being driven out of the market and replaced by corporate brands. I guess that’s the way of the world in 2015. Still, I’m sorry to see them go.
Thanks for all the great coffees and especially the Flex muffins Parmindar. We’ll all miss Renaissance coffee.
Ludwig Kaiser, Burnaby
