The Riverbend Cafe - Spotlight on Alberni

Join us as we speak with owners of The Riverbend Cafe & General Store in Port Alberni. Which offers a variety of products including charcuterie boards, stained glass, soaps, retro candy, an amazing cup of coffee and more!

"Hey this week on Spotlight on Alberni I'm on River Road to talk to Chris and Wish about their business, The Riverbend Cafe &  General Store.

Thank you for welcoming us to your business, tell us a little bit about yourselves. 

Thank you so much for having us, my name is Wish and I'm Chris. We moved here 6 years ago on a whim and started raising our family here in Port Alberni and absolutely loved the Alberni Valley. 

Share with Us the Origin Story of The Riverbend

It's a doozy, I lived in Tofino for a long time before we lived here and, well before we met even, and I drove by this place time and time again thinking wow, something should happen with this place. A Thursday afternoon, on a random day after we moved here I decide we should look at it so I pitched it to her while I was doing dishes, and long story short, here we are. And to boot, I was 7 months pregnant at the time, it was mid covid and it was quite the journey from that day forward. We are 2 years deep now and it has been incredible.

Please Share With Us a Little Bit More About What The Riverbend Offers

We offer an array of things. First and foremost is an excellent cup of coffee. Island roasted coffee from Fernwood, based out of Victoria. As well we've teamed up with Wildflower Bakery and they provide our baked goods, as well a frozen food program. Beyond that we are really dedicated towards being a hub for Port Alberni to show the best and brightest of what this community has to offer. 

So we have everything from charcuterie boards, to knitted hats, tea, t-shirts, stained glass from Tony, carvings, art cards, candles, soaps, everything is made on Vancouver island and a lot of it is made right here in the Valley.

One of the most delicious offerings that I absolutely love and was part of the foundation of our concept was retro candy. So the candy you used to get as a kid at your corner store, we carry. The lick and dips, the double lollipops, goldmine gum, spearmint sticks. It's just all about fun and bringing the olden days into the present because we really feel that the nostalgia of the times past are quite important to the community. This community is very rooted in it's history, as it should be, and we want to celebrate that. 

My Last Question Is Tell Us Where You're Located and What Your Hours Are

We are located at 6109 River Road, just before the orange bridge and we are open 7 days a week 9am to 5 pm

Thanks for joining me on this weeks spotlight on Alberni. We'll see you next time."