At The Wilder Snail I try to give customers a good value for their money. In the past five years our coffee prices have only gone up once, and I fought to keep the price of our popular americanos under $3 (that’s AFTER tax). Our coffee costs, dairy costs, labour, and rent have all risen and I’m forced to increase prices again, but not much, don’t worry.
I’d like to do it with some input from YOU, our customers. I could just raise all the prices by $0.15 to $0.20, but with Earth Day coming up, there is another option I’m considering, charging $0.25 for disposable cups.
The City of Vancouver estimates that a THIRD of the volume of garbage in downtown trash cans is disposable coffee cups. That’s a lot. At the Snail, it’s probably a similar amount.
The disposable cups I purchase are biodegradable and they cost more than the non-degradable cups. In fact, a cup, lid, and sleeve, cost about $0.25.
How would you, as a customer, feel about paying the cost of disposable cups when you take one to-go?
We’re gearing up for summer and are currently seeking a responsible, friendly, and experienced barista.
Responsibilities include making lattes, handling cash, cleaning, stocking, and getting to know the neighbours.
Applicants must be passionate about local food and available weekends.
Food Safe required.
Start date will be end of April or early May
Resumes can be dropped off at the shop or emailed to hr at thewildersnail dot com
Preference will be given to candidates who qualify for the Get Youth Working Program http://www.getyouthworking.ca/youth-info/
Criteria for eligible youth is as follows:
1. Unemployed, 15 to 29 years of age
2. Not currently receiving or eligible for EI and have not received EI in the past 36 months or 60 months for a parental claim
3. Not a full-time student, enrolled in high school/post secondary or returning to school
4. Not a participant in another LMA-funded program
5. Resident of BC and legally entitled to work in Canada
The Wilder Snail is proud to announce the addition of a new section in the shop. Our produce cooler is finally up and running and full of all kinds of healthy things. We’ve got local veggies from SOLEfood, Nathan Creek Organic Farm, Temple Farm, and Fair Trade fruits thanks to Discovery Organics. There’s fresh stuff arriving daily so stop by and check out the new offerings. We’re also expanding the cafe menu to include organic salads made with local greens and love.
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- A few local farms and one Fair Trade distributor can really fill up the Snail with yumminess.
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- MMMMMangos are delicious!
This month I’ve finally started work on a project I’ve wanted to see implemented for years. It’s an idea I had long before I had The Wilder Snail… Pedal powered workstations! Imagine walking into your favourite coffee shop and plugging in your laptop to an energy source fuelled by… yourself!
I pitched the idea last week at a Vancouver Design Nerds Open Jam. A group of us jammed on the idea and I got a lot of fantastic ideas on how to build it, how to make it safe, and how to make it even more fun than I’d ever imagined.
Stay tuned…
Oddly, The Snail is having kittens. This lovely local stray has been adopted by a caring regular of The Wilder Snail. She is pregnant (the kitty). We’re running a pool to guess the birthday of the kittens. The winner will receive 50% of the pot and the other half will go towards veterinary expenses for the kittens. Details and a photo of the kitten available at the front counter of The Wilder Snail.
Are you faster than a speeding snail? The Wilder Snail is happy to sponsor a team for the Vancouver Marathon and Half-Marathon.
None of us are overly competitive so we’re calling ourselves the Strathcona Snails. When you register for the (half) marathon (http://www.bmovanmarathon.ca/) choose Strathcona Snails as a team and when you get to the payment screen, enter the code “TM-WildSnail” to receive a 15% discount. Anyone can register with this code so please feel free to pass it around.
In addition to the registration discount, The Wilder Snail will be offering team members a 15% discount on all energy-type products. Those include:
Elevate Me! bars
Clif bars
Luna Bars
Clif Shots
Hemp Power bars
Larabars
Sharkies Organic Fruit Chews
all coconut waters
and, nature’s power snacks, FRUIT (it’s a limited selection but there’s usually apples and bananas available).
Once you’ve registered send an email to boyd@thewildersnail.com and I’ll set you up for discounts and let you know of any group runs.
Today was a wonderful and auspicious day at the Wilder Snail. I was happy and proud to host a delegation from the City, the VACC, and fellow cyclists. We all had coffee and a snack, heard a few words from our Mayor, and rode downtown along the Dunsmuir viaduct to Granville where there was a media event opening the new dedicated bike lane along Dunsmuir.
In the summer of 2009, Boyd Thomson, proprietor of The Wilder Snail, participated in the Strathcona Zero Waste Challenge.
Here is a link to some video about the project:
Boyd and a few regulars are interviewed on the streets of Strathcona. The CBC is doing in-depth coverage of… warm weather. How exciting.
Thank you G&M for the coverage.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/vancouvers-artistic-side/article1366892/singlepage/