Bright and airy, the new look Conversations Coffee House has reopened, ready for this year’s early summer trade.
After closing for renovations in April, the popular cafe underwent changes making it a more open and modern space, conducive to its namesake.
The new design maximizes the charm of the heritage building, which was built in 1912. A full wall of exposed brick creates a funky urban backdrop. Bright lighting in modern fixtures cast a warm glow and plant life adorns the countertop, forging an inviting and friendly atmosphere.
Owner Karen Powers said customers have given them great feedback about the new look.
“I think overall everybody likes it,” she said. “It’s more bright, I think it’s more welcoming.”
As the Revelstoke business and tourist trade increases, more business owners (recently the Main Street Cafe and The Taco Club) see the benefit in creating a more attractive storefront. Conversations hadn’t seen a major facelift in about 20 years, which is one of the reasons why Powers decided to renovate.
“I think it was getting tired looking and if you want to increase your business, you’re going to have to upgrade,” she said. “It was definitely time.”
The appeal of our downtown core, its image often used in ads promoting the city, is vital to Revelstoke’s tourism product. While Powers does not believe business owners should be mandated to renovate their spaces, she thinks there are ways for the city to encourage change that help uplift the city’s appeal.
“It’s pretty hard to pressure a small business into doing renos until they are financially stable,” Powers said. “I think though, the city could probably help small businesses, or help the building owners, upgrade the outside.”
Powers said the city years ago spent millions of dollars upgrading the downtown core and one way to continue its longevity could be to create an incentive that encourages building owners to upgrade.
“I’m not talking about anything major, maybe it’s just a paint job,” Powers said.
“Maybe once every five years, give a tax break for the building owners and they can invest that into the building itself, on the exterior.”
When the Mountaineer asked Powers, who has been in Revelstoke all her life, what she thinks Revelstoke needs now, she said something out of the box might do well, as we have plenty of cafes, restaurants and ski shops.
“I think business is doing pretty good in Revelstoke,” she said. “Especially restaurants. The competition is high and everybody’s brought their standards up. I think everyone seems to work together… that’s great, it makes us stronger”
“…[We need] something different than what we already have, because we will flood the market.”
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