Andy's Coffee House: A Unique Combination of English Pub and Coffee Shop
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - On a recent tour around the Lower Mainland to chat with some of our advertisers, I dropped into Andy's Coffee House and Bistro in Abbotsford.
 |
|
ANDY JOHNSON
|
Andy's Coffee House is a rare combination of a specialty coffee shop and an English pub. Owner, Andy Johnson, a former RAF pilot, is originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. He opened Andy's Coffee House a year ago and runs it pretty much on his own, six days a week.
At Andy's you can order all your specialty coffees, lattes, cappucinos and regular coffees, but you can also order a Tetleys, Guinness, Kilkenny or Canadian beer, wine or liquor. One other very unique feature at Andy's is a tap that was brought specially from England, where you can enjoy a traditional hand-pulled beer, just like back home in the U.K.
"What makes a hand-pulled beer unique is that there is no gas pumped into the barrel since the ale is drawn straight out of the barrel," Johnson said, "a lot of the British people who come in here, like the stronger ale without the gas.
"We use Russells Cream Ale in our hand-pulled tap, because it's traditionally brewed in the same fashion as English beer and it's more compatible with the hand-pump. Also, with the hand-pulled ale, you get a nice pint and you don't get a headache, so you can drink a little bit more."
One other item that is quite unique to Andy's is a Belgium Chewter chocolate cup. "On a recent visit to England, I saw these Chewter cups and so when I came back to Canada, I searched for them and since no one else was using them here, I decided to try them, and they have been extremely popular.
"You put a liqueur such as Bailey's or Kahula in the cup and when you're finished the drink, then you can eat your cup...saves me washing up later. Right now, the Chewter cups are really popular for Christmas parties. People are buying the cups here, taking them home and putting their own drinks in them."
Andy tries to add items that are different than other coffee shops. There is a little hutch in the shop with some U.K. products that people would remember from the old country, such as English tea, coffee, pickled onions, Heinz beans and Cadbury Selection boxes for Christmas. He doesn't really want to turn the area into a British grocery corner since he really wants the shop to be more like a little English pub.
Andy's Coffee House and Bistro basically serve coffee shop fare such as soup and sandwiches, paninis and traditional English meat pies. In the evening there is chili, macaroni and cheese and the soup and sandwiches, basically, good comfort foods. The shop is not licensed for a deep fryer yet.
Since the coffee shop is small and intimate, there is soft acoustic music on weekends with an open mike on Friday nights. There is also a television for watching the hockey games and other events.
Andy's Coffee House and Bistro is certainly a novel idea and it's one where you can enjoy your specialty coffee, a pint, or one of Andy's famous chocolate Chewters and all in a traditional English pub-style setting.
Andy's Coffee House and Bistro is located at 32750 George Ferguson Way in Abbotsford, B.C. For more information, call (604) 870-1876.
|
