A Little Burdy Told Me Granville Island Has a New Resident
Burdy
Neighbourhood: Granville Island
Address: 1441 Anderson St, Vancouver, BC
Lately, it seems that every time I open my web browser, something new is happening on Granville Island. And every time I catch wind of a new open, I celebrate. You can only imagine the stars in my eyes when I saw Burdy’s logo pop up on the exterior of the new Chain & Forge redevelopment space some months ago, along with a “Coming Soon” banner.
Burdy has to be one of my favourite food trucks in the city. They convinced me that I do in fact enjoy a chicken parm sandwich, despite my previous trepidation towards breaded things on buns. My convictions flew out the door when that house-made basil mayo hit for the first time. Every time I rock up for a sandwich, I tell myself I don’t need any fries and I order them anyway. And I’ve never once regretted that decision. A couple of beers from Container Brewing and an order (or two) of these? Sounds like a great day to me.
But Burdy’s food truck days are over. And given the pressures that working from a tiny yellow converted school bus imposed over the years, we all have reason to celebrate. The team’s dedication to house-made excellence has been unyielding, even while working out of a space that could easily reach 40 degrees in the summer, and became wet, slippery, and somewhat depressing throughout Vancouver’s rainy season, which, as we all know, persists throughout the bulk of the year. With their full menu having regularly sold out before close, the space simply could not continue to support their level of demand.
Now, Burdy has moved into a permanent home on Granville Island, fit with a fully functional kitchen that the team have been dreaming about for years. No more refrigerator that doubles as a countertop, and a full operation being run from inside a truck whose four walls sit barely more than an arms length apart. With room to roam, the team has been able to welcome some past rotating favourites onto their permanent menu, like the Mushroom Swiss Braised Beef Sandwich (yum). Rotating features will continue to shift, and now that the team has the full capacity to flex their creative muscles, I’ll be looking forward to what’s to come.
Some of the biggest news here is the breakfast sandwich program that has launched in Burdy’s new house. A misty fall weekend morning on Granville Island with a peameal bacon sandwich? Absolutely. I’ll be able to brave the Public Market crowds once I have one of those in me.
The room itself feels like a natural progression from Burdy’s original food truck locale. The team from Janks Design Group understood the assignment perfectly. Warm yellow and red accents immediately bring to mind the palette from their first home. The space is tied together with a retro tiled floor and hand drawn artwork that echoes the playful spirit of a team that happily did the impossible work of building hundreds of sandwiches every day inside one of the smallest space imaginable.
Between the Chain & Forge redevelopment and some changes underway in and around the Public Market, Granville Island is experiencing a hospitality revival that it’s been hungry for since Covid. If this tempo shift means more reasons to visit my one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Vancouver AND a delicious sandwich, then count me in.
