Caffe Artigiano Sold
Related entries in Coffee Reviews on the Road, Vancouver coffeeVince and Sam Piccolo have sold their Caffe Artigiano chain, for an undisclosed price, to former Earl’s exec Willie Mounzer.
Vince has grown his chain of coffee stores from one in 2000 to 5 in 2006. He is well known for his dedication to the craft of coffee and his brother, Sammy, is the 3 time Canadian Barista Champion.
Vince and Sam still own their new roasting facility, 49th Parallel, and it remains to be seen what next they have planned for the coffee community. It will also be interesting to see what happens to the Artigiano chain and its ability to keep such high coffee standards.
Via Vancouver Sun ; Tags: caffe artigiano, vince piccolo, sam piccolo, vancouver, coffee
October 5th, 2006 at 6:59 pm
Wow, that is certainly surprising. On a perhaps related note, do you know why Artigiano’s drip coffee at Hornby today was “Artigiano Breakfast Blend”? I was disappointed.
October 6th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
I had the brazilian coffee at Artigiano. It was the worst coffee I had ever had, I couldn’t finish it. I had to try and force it down because I paid 6 dollars for a drip.
And no, I don’t like Starbucks.
October 9th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
hey to all of out their that think that because artigiano was sold I will let u know that the quality of the coffee remains the same if not better, and that is because vince is now 100% roasting and making sure that all coffees are fresher than ever since now he has more time
October 10th, 2006 at 8:46 pm
hehe, thanks for the reassurance; I was panicking for a moment that day because of the sudden use of a blend for the first time since I’ve started going there, but the very next day they were back to their usual single origins :)
October 11th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
eerily reminiscent of Jerry Baldwin selling Starbucks to Howard Schultz in 1987…
November 20th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
I have been a (almost daily) customer at the Hastings store since it opened, as my office is in the same building. Recently, since the new owner took over, it’s gone downhill fast. I always went there more for the food than the coffee which I consider no better than the other 20 or so places within one city block. They have raised the prices and cut a number of my favorite items off the menu. The staff in the front of the shop has turned over about 4 times in the last 4 weeks, and seems to be in total chaos and completely demoralized. I’m not surprised actually as the manager there is a thug and manages by just yelling at the staff. If this is some of the “expertise” that the new owner has brought with him from 24 years at Earl’s, best of luck. I have just thrown most of my soggy sandwich away that I bought not 10 minutes ago. They used to be soooo good! They have succeeded in losing me as a customer.
December 8th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
I cannot imagine why Vince would sell his business so soon. All that hard work he put into it and now its all falling down around their ears. The service is atrociously bad! I brought my family from London to the Hastings Street store for brunch one Saturday and they begged me to leave! The “world famous latte art” was pathetic. Didn’t look like anything at all. And our food was cold and the uninterested server just threw it on the table. Of course I had to go find cutlery myself.
What a bunch of knobs. Talk about ruining what was once a really good thing in this city. So many other cafes are doing a much better job now.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
According to some inside information, things are not so good. The new owner is trying to recreate Earl’s with all the textbook efficiencies. People are quitting and being layed off in droves. Looks like the hot kitchen at Hastings will close.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
From the inside from a few people, no earls ideas put in, maybe more emphasis on friendlier customer service, the coffee is better now that Vince, the previous owner, is dedicated to roasting and training. Sandwiches are way better, prepared daily versus 3 days old and there is a new bakery doing a great job! The old bakery was awful. People are not laid off in droves at all, I hear just one person at Hastings. Sounds like some people do not have their information right and are just negative, looking to knock anyone.
April 14th, 2007 at 5:13 am
I was in Artigiano yesterday & was speaking with another patron & we both agreed that with the change in food at Hasting, which was amazing, & the fact that they no longer have the customer appreciation, Artigiano has certainly gone downhill since it was sold. I do not understand why you would purchase an company known for its high standards & then turn it into yet another poor quality & generic Earl’s? Very disappointing. The salads at Hastings were the best in the downtown core & now it’s back to sandwiches. Thank God for Sciue – now the staff from Artigiano go there for a decent meal. So sad that a great quality restaurant, of which there is very little for the 9 to 5 crowd who do not want another sandwich, must be sucked into the vortex of another generic & boring establishment.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
My wife and I have been frequenting the Kerrisdale shop for a few years now. Use to be good coffee, but now it’s the luck of the draw. Once in a while I get a good cup. The new manager, dancing shoes as I refer to him, a past employee of earls, is doing a terrible job. I’m sure Mounzer paid a pretty penny, to bad it’s going down the tubes. Time will tell. If you’re down town, check out Take 5 for a good cup.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Dear Jennifer,
Can you you tell me which salad you would like back and I will make sure that we have the ingredients on hand and we make it for you when you come.
If you would like, it would be great if you would be part of our taste panel, which determines what makes the menu and what does not. All we have done, since I took over, is take any food item that sold less than three a day off the menu. We did this because the product was going bad and we threw out more than we sold.
As for the customer appreciation, we had too many problems with our provider and we are very close to implementing a loyalty program. In the meantime the managers have carte blanche to reward regular customers in any way they would like. If you have some ideas or suggestions for a loyalty program, please let me know.
Thank you Jennifer and I look forward to hearing from you.
Dear Kevin,
Vince Piccolo and I would also like to invite you to be part of our taste panel for coffee. we cup coffee almost weekly and we visit the roasting plant every month.
As well, Sammy Piccolo is in charge of certifyng our baristas and we have a few customers from time to time tasting the espressos of our great baristas. You are welcome to attend these.
Vince visits the caffes weekly and certifies that the espresso and the drip is to his standard. For the last 7-8 months in his words “it is the best he has tasted”, excpet for a few months at Hornby where we are a little inconsistent.
I agree with you Take 5 is pretty good.
Thanks for your time,
Willie Mounzer
willie@caffeartigiano.com
August 8th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I am also dissappointed with cafe Aatigiano on Kerrisdale. I have found another coffee shop that serves organic drinks up on the corner of 41st avenue and collingwood called Cafe Organica. It is an independent store that has great service, atmosphere and the best creamy smooth lattes. They have a large selection of hot and cold drinks. Give it a try!
August 12th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Nice promotion of your own cafe nick. I’ve tried that cafe and I think it’s not great.
Listen with all the volume that Caffe Artigiano does I think they are one of the best cafes you will ever try. Their coffee is great and the best thing about them is buying whole bean. I get great results at home with them.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I was mortified when I heard that Artigiano sold. I recall the quality of Starbucks going down the tubes when they expanded too quickly. With great respect to Howard Schultz, I attempted to be the first to bring Starbucks to Toronto in ‘94 and he would not expand for fear that the demand would impinge on the ultimate quality of the roasting if they expanded too quickly.. Eventually, this is what I see has happened, as I sometimes dump my latte out for lack of flavour with the exemption of a “burnt” flavour from roasting at high heat in order to move beans quickly.
As for Artigiano, I still love their lattes, can’t comment on drip because I never order drip…did notice huge drop in variety of food offered but totally understand why Earl’s would cut back if food is being dumped. Perhaps they could offer those items but prepare less to appease regulars. I now live in Kelowna and miss Artigiano with a passion…to the point of wishing that I owned my own here, to provide people with what I crave most…outstanding coffee with decent food and atmosphere to go along.
Each trip to Vancouver has one initial goal…find parking to get in to Artigiano. After living in Italy, this is the closest I get to being there. Everyone should relish the fact that we have this opportunity
August 29th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
This is a message for Mary Ann(august 28 12:08pm) from John (owner of Kelowna’s Bean Scene Coffee Houses). Call either one of our locations in Kelowna. North 763-4022 or Dtn. 763-1814 and ask to get in touch with me. Maybe we can soften the blow of missing Artigiano for you. Sincerely John.
September 1st, 2007 at 5:48 pm
My taste buds don’t lie. I can’t explain it, I wish they could. Coffee has been great of late. Ask them why and they say nothing has changed, go figure. It’s nice to get a good cup : )
December 30th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Well, this was an interesting conversation to read about on a Sunday morning…to think all i wanted to know was if Artigiano on hastings was open for breakfast today!
Thank you Wilie for clearing the air. I was beginning to worry…will definitely give you a try today.
My preferences are always for traditional style coffees: Traditional capuccino, traditional Macchiado’s…I am not a drip coffee drinker so I cannot comment. For those like me, who love a good cup of traditional style coffee and are looking for alternatives to Artigiano occassionally to spice up your coffee passions…try Nine Bar on Hastings and Koutenay (near Boundary) excellent coffee and quiet atmostphere but not open evenings and Sundays, JJ Bean in North Vancouver at Park and Tilford do a really great job also and their baristas are passionate about their trade…
Happy Coffee drinking
January 21st, 2008 at 2:05 am
The place is very over-rated and many items over-priced. In the last two years, I have never received a good coffee. Usually leave the cup mostly full at the cafe.
I love espresso – doubles.
There are now much better places for the real coffee drinker to go to.
The staff is ok. The atmosphere is great.
But the food and coffee are nothing worthy of compliments.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
Visited the Calgary location yesterday. Excellent coffee. Packed to the last table @ 10am.
Very glad Artigiano has arrived in Calgary.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
where is the cafe3 stated?
in vancouver????????????????
orz tell me i must go with my best fri3ndezzzzzzzzzzzzz!
November 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
stumbled upon Caffe Artigiano while here on business. I have to say it is the best coffee I have ever tasted.
My only question is when are you coming to Ontario???
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August 25th, 2011 at 8:49 am
So dissapointed in the new coffee. The organic espresso, it is not the same. I come from out of town just for the coffee, will not be doing that. This coffee can be purchased anywhere.
Will be looking for the real thing.
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November 19th, 2011 at 12:22 am
The organic espresso, it is not the same. I come from out of town just for the coffee, will not be doing that. This coffee can be purchased anywhere.