Engage your senses at the new Soe Cafe
After two years of percolating, owners and husband-and-wife duo Ryan Grifone and Thuy Bui, quietly opened Soe, a cafe-cum-sanctuary for coffee, music and wine.
The space is warm and intimate with clean lines inspired by Japanese and Danish design. Birch plywood walls add a calming effect with a long stainless-steel counter that showcases a slick and serious Slayer coffee machine. Minimal seating, including vintage designer wood and metal seating gather around the counter, cafe tables and a communal long table with thoughtful zines to peruse. Two turntables spinning tunes from a growing record collection set the soundtrack for the space, influenced by their travels in Japan, where Kissa jazz bars – places to unwind over coffee and jazz music – are the norm. Japan is also where, through mutual friends, the couple met in 2018.
The word, Soe, pronouned so-eh, refers to the middle branch or angle in Ikebana, and Soe’s line-drawing logo depicts a trumpet as a vase holding three flower stems.
“It’s all about balance,” says Bui. “It [the middle branch] represents humanity and it really resonated about how we source our suppliers.”
To this effect, the coffee here surfs the third wave of the caffeine world. It’s a term that encompasses all the good things that go on, not only behind the scenes – with beans sourced ethically and sustainably – but to thoughtful and exacting processing and roasting, along with high standards of what and how the dark liquid ends up in your cup. Grifone brings his experience working at third wave coffee bars in Kelowna and Victoria to Soe, and his connections with other small producers and like-minded entrepreneurs. Feature drip coffee will be sourced from these connections, including Bows coffee out of Victoria, and Soe’s house espresso, a collab between the couple and The Tulip House Projects from Loma Linda, California. It’s a natural process single origin bean from Yirgacheffe Ethiopia, custom roasted for Soe. It was one of the best espressos I’ve ever enjoyed, a sweet and smooth elixir with a lovely aroma and a crema that didn’t dissipate. Soe will rotate the roasters for their drip coffees to offer a wide gamut of flavour profiles, and customers can purchase beans for home use.
“We like to try new things,” says Grifone, “and we want Soe to be an exploratory space. It’s important to have that – and we want to work with brands and people that are doing good things.”
That means snacks and light lunches are sourced from other up-and-comers that see their craft as art. Grist Microbaker Dana Ewert’s bread, for example, is on offer, served with a big dollop of whipped butter with flakes of sea salt. And Heather Jefferys from Handful produces the sweet notes with creative cookies, and a daily coffee cake. Sandwiches in the afternoon will be rolled out soon, and in the evenings, natural wines on tap will be offered along with bar snacks and quality small plates. Bui brings a solid art and design background to the space as an international arts and culture project manager for Google.
It’s reflected in the thoughtful and downright gorgeous plates and coffee mugs, all handformed by Vancouver artist friends. Each one is unique, inspired by earthy objects with tactile qualities making them a treat to hold. Even the cutlery is gorgeous.
The couple are currently working on their wine program, hoping to be launched in May, with rotating wines by the glass or bottle. Grifone brings his wine production experience and connections into focus here, having spent time at Desert Hills, Anthony Buchanan, Sage Hills and Deep Roots wineries. The couple chose Penticton as the location for their first venture because of the city’s central location to the wine industry. In future, touring wine makers and chefs will be featured at the space to showcase their stories, products and creativity.
Coffee has aromas, acidity and flavour profiles just like wine, so the two are fast friends. Add in some great tunes, food and atmosphere, and Soe is very much about engaging your senses. Engage yours soon.
Soe Cafe is located at 248 Westminster Ave. and it’s open Thursday to Monday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visit them online at soe-etc.com.