Small Victory is about to open a brand new space at 1089 Marinaside Crescent. This will come as welcome news to Yaletown locals who will surely have been mourning the loss of Small Victory’s previous Yaletown location at 1088 Homer Street which closed back in May 2024. Among other tasty treats, they served the best matcha in Yaletown but they’re due to reopen in a completely transformed space this month.
Small Victory’s New Fresh Space
We spoke with Qasim Nathoo, Small Victory’s Business Development Manager, to learn more about what prompted the move from the old location, why this new spot is going to be their prettiest location yet, and what the future holds for this family-run business.
“The building was difficult,” Nathoo explains of their previous home in Yaletown, “It was a hundred years old.” Plus they’d been there, at their first ever location, for ten years. The space was in need of a facelift. Any renovation would necessitate updating the entrance and stairs for accessibility. Rather than invest in a renovation that would decrease seating, the team decided that it would be best to move to a new space with more space. Now, the new spot on Marinaside offers water views as well. According to Nathoo, this new Marinaside location is set to be Small Victory’s prettiest cafe yet.
Nathoo’s sister echoes his excitement: “We are thrilled to return to Yaletown, and especially to such a stunning waterfront location,” says Afshan Nathoo, Co-Owner of Small Victory Bakery. “Our mission remains steadfast: to celebrate simple pleasures through exceptional baked goods and coffee.”
Tried and True Favourites
Speaking of exceptional baked goods, Small Victory has one of my favourite savoury items in the city: the spicy chicken roll. It’s like a sausage roll except it’s stuffed with spicy, shredded tender chicken. They’ll heat it up for you if you want to take it as a savoury snack to go. Another non-sweet option is their exceptionally flaky, personal-size, chicken pot pie. It has a much milder filling than the chicken roll. It’s stuffed with a comforting and warming mix of chicken, peas, carrots, and creamy gravy.
Small Victory also offers an array of delicious desserts. Their little cakes are adorable and perfect for picking up to bring to an event as a hostess gift, or potluck contribution. Also, their mini sugar coated croissants make a fantastic addition to a high tea table. Credit for these edible works of art goes to Executive Pastry Chef Ben Cormerias.
All of these items will be available again for Yaletown locals soon. The team is excited to welcome the Yaletown community to a new, refreshed location. “The new space is a lot more neighbourhood” than the old Homer Street location, according to Nathoo.
Small Victory Signatures
But the aesthetic will be familiar. Interior design is being done by &Daughters, who have worked on other Small Victory cafes. The press release about the new Yaletown location says “the space reflects the natural rhythm of ocean tides,” inspired by “the granular softness of sand” and “the layered sediment of the ocean floor.” The consideration of design details ultimately shapes the guest experience and it is encouraging to hear Nathoo express as much interest in touch points and artist flourishes, as he does in flour and butter.
It’s always a pleasure to talk with someone who really loves bread. As soon as they start getting into the details, their passion is evident, as is the meticulous detail and broad knowledge needed to bake beautiful bread.
Breaking Bread and Growing Up
Experimenting and elevating their bread baking partly motivated the opening of Small Victory’s most recently opened location on 6th Ave. In 2023, they moved into this expansive 6,000 square foot space that functions as both cafe and production kitchen. Centralizing production has helped lock in consistency. Head of Bread at Small Victory is Florian Dumartin, who is putting out a quality baguette as well as country loaves, porridge loaves, brioche, and rye. Now, a goal of Nathoo’s is to get Small Victory’s bread into more local restaurants.
Small Victory has always been family owned and operated. In fact, Nathoo credits having access to his parent’s production baking space in the early days as giving Small Victory a head start. “This business could not have done what it did if it didn’t have that sort of like, rent free access to that facility,” Nathoo explains, expressing his gratitude.
With the reopening of Yaletown, Small Victory’s first home in Vancouver, the business will be back up to four locations. Soon, the total will be five with another cafe opening in North Vancouver soon.
