NEW HOURS, NEW ERA.
🚨 UPDATE: WE'RE BACK WITH NEW HOURS:
TUE - FRI 10am-6pm
SAT 10am - 5pm
(SUN - MON: CLOSED)
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MAY 28, 2023
After nearly two months of reduced hours, we are excited to announce that we’re returning to our regular opening days of TUESDAYS - SATURDAYS!
And thanks to customer feedback, we’ve expanded our cafe opening hours:
TUES - FRI, 10am - 6pm
SAT, 10am - 5pm
In April, we reduced our cafe hours to help support our team, who were feeling the impact of long-term labour shortages. As we were struggling to meet the continued demand for our creations, we knew we needed to re-group and make some changes to our workflow to ensure our team’s well-being.
We’re happy to report that we’ve since added a couple more members to our team of skilled cooks, and we have added some new equipment in our kitchen so that we can produce enough cream puffs, chocolates, and ice cream sandwiches to keep our display cases full!
As an industry, we are faced with a variety of challenges - some of which we can impact through changes to how we work, and others that are outside of our control. Labour shortages, the continued rising costs due to inflation, and supply chain issues have become our new reality over the past year. We knew we needed to guide BETA5 into a new reality that promotes a better work-life balance, while finding ways to nourish the creative energy of our team - which is the key ingredient to making the unique, handmade treats that you love.
After talking with our team, we’re introducing a 4-day work week for our cooks, helping to ensure that they have more time to rest and recover after a busy week of dessert-making.
As a business, we also face the significant pressure of increasing costs in all areas. We’re incredibly sensitive to the idea of raising prices, and look at this solution as a last resort, as we want to ensure that we are offering you the highest quality creations at a reasonable price. In evaluating the prices of our current offerings, we’ve made the decision to adjust how we price our cream puffs, to better reflect the current cost of ingredients and the complexity of the creations. When ordering cream puffs, they are now priced individually and no longer by the box.
After 12 years in business, we are excited to see what these changes can bring and we look forward to focusing on creativity as we explore new ideas that push the dessert world forward.
We want to thank you for your patience and continued support as without you, we wouldn’t be able to do the work that we all love so much. We can’t wait to see you at our cafe, enjoying our new creations!
Sweet dreams!
Adam, Jess and the BETA5 team
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ORIGINAL MESSAGE FROM APRIL 10, 2023
THURS - SATÂ
10am - 6pmÂ
We love dessert, and we know we're not alone.Â
Sweet treats have the power to bring people together, to create joy, and provide an escape from the day-to-day grind.
Over the past 12 years in business, we've met legions of dessert lovers who have supported us on our dessert-making journey. BETA5 started out as more of a creative project than a business, and it has evolved into something much bigger than we ever expected with the help of a dedicated team and your continued support.
We've experimented with a variety of different creations - from our conceptual Chocolate Union subscription packs to weekly ice cream socials, from croissants to cream puff wreaths, from dessert jars to chocolate sculptures. Our tiny shop has also grown from being open one day a week into a full-on cafe that opened just a few months before COVID-19 turned the world upside down.
Now, after a couple of years of seemingly endless change and upheaval, things feel a little harder and cost a lot more, and the way many of us spend our time and energy has changed. Like other small businesses in the food industry, the massive shifts in the labour market and the economy are having a very real impact on how we operate.
We need to make adjustments to how we do things, so that we can continue to create next level desserts that reflect our commitment to quality, innovation, and deliciousness. While demand for our product has never been greater, our reality is that it takes a very talented and dedicated team to carefully craft the treats we make in small batches. We have been short-staffed in our kitchens and cafe for the past year, and our very small team has worked incredibly hard to keep up with demand. We are beyond grateful for our team, but the tempo at which we've been working is not sustainable…
So, it's time to adjust how we operate so we can support our team, while maintaining our commitment to providing all of Vancouver’s dessert lovers with the best possible experience.
Starting the week of April 10, we will be open from 10am - 6pm, THURSDAYS thru SATURDAYS.
Only opening three days a week, with a wider operating window (10am - 6pm), will allow us more time for production to keep up with demand, while also providing our team with a better balance in their work schedule. As a small business, the decision to reduce our hours of operation is a scary and difficult one, but it is necessary for the long-term stability of our business.
With this shift comes a renewed emphasis on CREATIVITY!
We’re exploring a number of exciting ideas this summer, including the return of our favourite past products and creating new items that aim to push dessert forward. We’re excited for you to join us for the ride - it's going to be delicious!
And, we'll still be making your favourite chocolates, polygon bars, and cream puffs. This operational change will allow us to explore our creativity through a more dynamic menu, the addition of new products and the launch of new ideas.
Sweet dreams!
Adam, Jess and the BETA5 team