The Cornerstone Café

Address: 1301 Gladstone Ave.
Phone: (250) 381-1884
Website: http://fernwoodnrg.ca/
Price: $2.75 Africano, $3 square
Notes: Has become the heart of "funky" Fernwood. Lots of local art, music and great community vibe. Free wi-fi!




The Cornerstone Café is run by the Fernwood NRG group, and a portion of the proceeds from the business go to supporting events and services run by the group. Fernwood has been 'my' neighbourhood for the past more than 10 years, which is funny because I had lived my whole life in Victoria without even setting foot in the neighbourhood until high school! I remember when the shops in this location were a revolving door and/or an empty store windows. When the NRG group took it over and turned the downstairs into awesome commercial and the upstairs into affordable housing I was excited to see the space revitalized, and it certainly feels like the Square as a whole has revitalized because of it!

My one reason for not going to the Cornerstone more often is pretty silly - it's always full! When I'm thinking about a place to work the cornerstone does pop into my head but the chance of finding a seat, let alone a seat near a plug, isn't so great. Still, for take away it's a pretty great option!


Service:
June 21, 2011
Nothing too personal, but there was a bit of a line. Certainly fast & friendly!




Food:
June 21, 2011

Pumpkin Pie Square via foodspotting.com

This was one of the best coffee shop snacks/desserts I've had in forever! Pumpkin pie is right at the top of my "favourite foods" list, so seeing this in the dessert case made me very happy! The centre of the square was dense pumpkin with the classic pumpkin pie spices. The walnuts on top were slightly salty. You know how salted caramels are so tasty? Same principle here. 

Africano via foodspotting.com

This was a pretty decent Africano! Pretty cheap, too. I love that they're serving Discovery coffee. No complaints indeed.