With a promise to serve fresh products daily and the best place for students to work, the Loafe Café in the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre hopes to become a new favourite within the community.
UBC alumnus and founder Timothy Yu felt that campus was missing a place to get fresh, quality food. “I'd always thought there was kind of an opportunity to do something fresh on campus," he said. "[You have to] serve food that you believe in, that is made from good quality ingredients, that is ethical and tastes good."
Now, that opportunity has come for Timothy and his wife, Brittany, who won over the palettes of the alumni judges with their Westcoast Po'boy sandwich in a bid to be the café’s operators.
The café’s European atmosphere was inspired from the owners’ European travels as students and, in particular, their stay in Madrid. The concept is based on the authenticity of passion for food. Their menu encompasses an array of different dishes with international flare.
Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, Loafe Café will offer fresh Cartems Doughnuts, homemade baked pastries, locally roasted coffee from Palette Roasters and other deliciously crafted creations such as the smashed avocado toast. They will also be making homemade soups, three kinds on rotation, and offer a selection of international and B.C. wines and beers.
What the owners are most excited to showcase are their lunch offerings. Their large salad bar will be serving 6-8 different types of salads everyday wherein customers may select one to three varieties of salads in addition to the café’s menu of sandwiches.
“Rather than grab and go like majority of campus, we’re only doing made-to-order sandwiches,” Timothy Yu said when asked what differentiated Loafe Café from other food joints on campus.
One of the sandwiches Timothy and Brittany are most excited to showcase is the Cuban-style pork shoulder sandwich. The pork is marinated for 24 hours then slowly roasted until it falls off the bone. It is then served on freshly baked focaccia bread with caramelized onions, garlic aioli, fresh romaine and jalapenos to make one wickedly spiced sandwich.
The other sandwich to anticipate is the Westcoast Po'boy sandwich, but on freshly baked croissants instead of ciabatta. With its main ingredient sourced from Vancouver Island’s Ocean Wise Seafood, these scallop sandwiches are sure to win the palettes of everyone who tries them.
“These are the kind of sandwiches you dream about. And that even when you’re full, you’ll still want another one,” Timothy Yu said.
Loafe Café also uses ethically treated and hormone free meat and free range eggs. “It’s important to us that animals are treated well and fair," Brittany Yu said. "Not only is it great for the animals and great for our bodies, but it’s also delicious. Our concept is never cheap."
Each sandwich has a story behind it and the café’s concept comes from literary inspirations and travel discoveries. They will be available to cater events for clubs and organizations around campus with their innovative, home-cooked foods.