Joanne Lee-Young, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, March 24, 2008
The area around St. Patrick's Catholic Parish on Main Street at 12th
Avenue is home to a smattering of independent businesses that cater to
Vancouver's growing Filipino community.
The church's congregation is predominantly Filipino, with some estimates
as high as 90 per cent; and these bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores
-- most just a hop and a skip from the church -- are at their busiest after
weekend mass services.
Basically, the line-ups start when church ends.
Many observers wouldn't have noticed it, but a few weeks ago, a
well-known brand name from the Philippines opened its doors in a compact but
prime location here, smack against the church's north wall.
The arrival of Goldilocks, a bakery and restaurant chain with some 300
locations in the Philippines and a storied history going back to the
mid-1960s, is, for some, akin to Starbucks landing on Commercial Drive's
mom-and-pop cappuccino strip a few years ago.
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