Q: Slo is built around the idea of making time. What did you feel was missing from the coffee culture that led you here?

Colin: We’re blessed with the city's diversified coffee shop offerings, and we’re honored to be part of it. At Slo, we strive to be present: our baristas are present to deliver top-notch hospitality, and our patrons are present to connect with the coffee, themselves, friends, families or colleagues. Time is a precious commodity, and we’re forever grateful that our team and customers spend their time and be present with us.

Paul: There are so many great coffee shops in Vancouver, and I’ve always had a lot of respect for the level of quality and care in the scene here. For me, it wasn’t just about trying to do “better” coffee, it was about exploring a different feeling. We became interested in what happens when a space is designed to genuinely hold a pause. Not a surface-level idea of slowing down, but something more deliberate, where every detail, from the environment to the service to the product, works together to soften the pace and invite you to linger, to notice, to settle in. Slo emerged from that idea. A belief that a café can move away from urgency and toward presence, less transactional, more atmospheric, even if you're taking coffee to go. A place where time isn’t something you’re trying to keep up with, but something you can actually feel.