The Vault Cafe celebrates 10 years

Scott (middle) says The Vault is a special place for not just her but also the people that work and perform there. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie/ CHLY 101.7fm

Amongst the bustling downtown area, in an old bank building is the Vault Cafe. The cafe which has been known as a hub for coffee and community, is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this weekend.

Amanda Scott never imagined herself owning a cafe. But, when the opportunity to buy the location came up and her friend decided to play some tricks on her to talk to the then-owner, everything fell into place

“I was just caught wind that he was possibly thinking about selling it, and then one of my best girlfriends did a little trickery of getting me to deliver some newspapers here for the Navigator from the university,” Scott said. “And then 10 days later, I signed the papers, and I had the key to it. It was pretty special.”

Although Scott said that she did not know at first what she was doing, once she got the keys, she hit the ground running.

“I just didn't know what I was doing, and it just took off so fast that you didn't even have time to think about it,” Scott said. “It was just like, ‘Okay, this is what we're doing, and we're going to do live music and we're going to fill it with antiques, we're going to make it look like this. It's just gonna be like pretty loosey goosey and fun.’”

Scott said she had loads of support from the community to revamp the space and turn the coffee shop into what it is now.

With most locally owned coffee shops in the Nanaimo area closing in the evening, The Vault stays open until late most nights of the week to host various shows and performances. 

Any type of show could be expected at The Vault. From drag shows to jazz nights and fake jazz nights, to local and visiting bands playing music genres you may have not even heard of.

Chirs Thompson is a performer in Nanaimo who plays in so many bands it can be hard to keep track of them. Some of the bands include Ah, Venice and Sex. 

At The Vault, Thompson can be found performing or working various jobs at the cafe. 

His first performance at the cafe is what led him to join The Vault team when he realised The Vault needed some changes to the acoustics in the space.

“it sounded bad in there at the time, it was mostly an empty room. It needed a lot of acoustic work, and I was hired to do that,” Thompson said. “So we built the sound baffling on the ceiling and designed it and built a new stage. And a lot of wall panelling as well.”

Thompson said that the space and people are two of the reasons he continues to play there.

“We have put a lot of effort into making it sound good, which is unusual for a cafe. But more than anything, it is the community and the atmosphere that draws people there. It's a really good scene, and it can be very welcoming,” Thompson said. “And it's nice to sit down in a room that feels like a living room and listen to music.”

For stand-out moments from The Vault, Thompson admitted one of them would have to be when he became the reason why there is a no confetti policy at the cafe.

“My old techno band was pretty boisterous when it came to show antics, and we had quite a number of confetti launchers that we built, basically potato cannons. There is still confetti in the baffles at The Vault and hidden in the corners,” Thompson said. “Every once in a while, despite how many times that place has been renovated, sometimes you'll move something and a piece of confetti will fall out.”

Apparently, six confetti cannons in one night are too many.

Thompson said he continues to support The Vault because of the room it makes for various communities in the city.

“It has become sort of a central part of the activity of a lot of different scenes downtown. So the queer scene, general art scene–which I guess is really wrapped into the queer scene,” Thompson said. “But it's cool. So cool people end up there. Which is not to say that you can't go there if you're not cool, but the cool things happen there because of the people that are drawn to it, and that draws more people in. So it's sort of a cycle.”

It is not just local performers The Vault highlights. In 2021, The Vault opened up its upstairs area and turned it into The Vault Bazaar. The bazaar became a space with several different shops and studio spaces locals could rent. 

Scott said the addition of the bazaar was a positive change for the space.

“That's very awesome. That's a huge positive change for here like having the shops, the studio spaces up here. That way to just have the public and walk around and see up here,” Scott said.

Several of the stores that first opened in The Vault Bazaar have even gone on to move out of the space and open up their own storefront.

But it has not always been easy for The Vault. The business has faced many hardships, from surviving through the pandemic to being a target for vandalism and several break-ins in just this last year.

“It's been nuts. It's been ups and downs, and ups and downs, and ups and downs, and COVID. Last winter was It was rough,” Scott said. “It was hard, but we're just still here, and it's just the best staff ever. We just all are just here for each other make it work”

But as Scott said nothing will set her back, because she is still having fun.

“It's just because it is fun, still now it's fun. We still have a good time with the challenges of it in the area and downtown, and we all just love downtown Nanaimo,” Scott said. “Just the art scene and the music and just be it here, you just keep going and going and going.”

Scott said that while the cafe evolves and changes, The Vault will always be a special place for her.

“That's the biggest thing, we just still just love it here. Like there's something special about it,” Scott said.

The Vault Cafe will be hosting its 10-year anniversary party on Saturday, January 27th from 10 a.m. to midnight. There will be food and drink specials, a special open mic time, and performances from some Vault favourite bands.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.