By Ida Koric, Rossland News
The team at the Alpine Grind has hit the ground running at their new location, and it nobody is looking back.
After many cozy years at the little yellow house on the corner of Highway 22A, the micro-bakery/café has successfully crossed the road to occupy the former space of Drift Izakaya across from Ross Vegas.
Proprietor John Snelgrove cites location as the main motivator behind the relocation.
“There’s more walk-by traffic; as much as we loved the old space, it was a hard place to get to if you’re not from Rossland.”
Some changes certainly had to be made to turn an evening dining venue into a bright, warm spot for a morning coffee. The Drift’s dark walls were painted over, banquette seating was removed from the windows and the flat bar was replaced with glass cases displaying baked temptations.
The new venue also provides a greater feeling of togetherness, with all patrons sharing a larger space. A community table encourages large groups to congregate, or strangers to get to know one another better.
“It brings everybody together,” Snelgrove says of the new dynamic, “We can see everybody, we can have conversations with people while we’re working.”
Despite the fact that John’s first passions are baked goods and great coffee, there are considerations of expanding into new directions in the future. He hopes to be open evenings two or three days a week, serving beer and wine.
For now, however, he and his staff will enjoy serving daytime customers the soups, sandwiches and sweet treats that the Grind has become well known for.
Things have settled into a rhythm after an astonishingly busy Carnival weekend, and the Grind is already reaping the rewards of the move.
“There is no comparison,” John insists, “It’s so much busier here. It has only been two weeks, but there are no regrets at all.”
The Grind micro-bakery churns out fresh bread on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while you can get world class coffee and tea, baked goods and healthy lunches every day of the week.
If you haven’t tried the pizza special, you’re missing out. Take a moment to visit John and his staff at their bustling new digs on Columbia Avenue.