If you’ve spent any time in Richmond’s food courts lately, you’ve likely seen the One Cafe (正斗) takeover. They are officially moving at lightning speed, and their latest “Coming Soon” sign just popped up in a spot we didn’t quite expect.
The First Outpost Outside of Richmond
If you’ve been following our updates, you know they are already deep into construction at their Lansdowne Centre location—but they aren’t waiting for those doors to open before starting the next project.
For the first time, One Cafe is leaving the 604 area code (well, the Richmond version of it) and heading to Burnaby. They’ve officially claimed a stall inside the legendary Crystal Mall food court.
This is a massive move for the “Hong Kong On The Go” brand. Taking over the unit previously occupied by Mad Chicken, this will be their fourth location in total:
- Parker Place (The Original)
- Empire Centre
- Lansdowne Centre (Under Construction)
- Crystal Mall (New!)
Why Crystal Mall?
Crystal Mall is arguably the busiest food court in Metro Vancouver, and it’s notoriously hard to get a stall there. One Cafe is bringing their affordable, no-fuss HK comfort food—like their signature satay beef noodles and baked pork chop on rice—to a Burnaby crowd that has been craving more authentic cha chaan teng options.
The mall’s entrance area is also seeing a bit of a revival lately. Just last month, the Chinatown legend Money Foods Ent. officially opened their new shop right near the Crystal Mall entrance (taking over the old Sunshine Cafe spot). Between a veteran BBQ house moving in and a fast-growing cafe chain like One Cafe joining the food court, the “Crystal Mall vs. Richmond Public Market” debate is getting a lot more interesting.
What’s the Timeline?
Peeking behind the “Coming Soon” boards, the space is still in the early stages of the flip. However, if their Empire Centre opening was any indication, these guys move fast. We expect them to be serving up milk tea to the Burnaby crowd by late spring or early summer.
Are you excited to see One Cafe expand past Richmond, or are you still waiting for the Lansdowne location to finally open? Let us know over on Instagram!
