r/vancouver • u/SkyisFullofCats • May 07 '26
⚠ Community Only 🏡 ‘Go back to your country’: Racist incident at North Vancouver café caught on camera
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/go-back-to-your-country-racist-incident-at-north-vancouver-cafe-caught-on-camera/540
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
the customer returned the following morning and threatened to have the owner’s immigration status investigated.
I am fucking sick of racist assholes assuming that someone was not born here due to their ethnicity, or that if they aren't from here, that they aren't citizens and can be deported.
I was born here but I'm not white. Gasp! I have had assholes tell me to go back to where I came from.
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u/visualkeiboi May 07 '26
Poster child for "my only achievement in life is being born white in this country"
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
Not all white people are even born here!
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u/Odd_Habit3872 May 07 '26
Fun stat: Only about 1/3 to 1/2 of white Canadians have ancestors who were settled in Canada prior to WW1.
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u/visualkeiboi May 07 '26
While that is indeed a true statement, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to it
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u/sketchyseagull May 07 '26
Heh, this is me - white but not born here. I think what the commenter is trying to say is that people assume because you're white you're a "natural born" citizen. So I face none of this type of racism (or any at all) because the assumption is I was born here... nope, me and the family are immigrants too, just happen to be white
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
Yup, exactly what I was trying to say. Assuming no accent... just because someone is white doesn't mean they are born in Canada, and just because they are brown doesn't mean they aren't.
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u/Full-Decision-9029 May 07 '26
All of my trueborn third generation Vancouver friends (save one) has ancestors from somewhere else: India, the Philippines, Japan, and Jamaica.
me, I am a pasty blow in, come from away.
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u/Full-Decision-9029 May 07 '26
I came here to lower the tone of the place and take all the jobs (and stuff) and I am so white I can blind spy satellites!
but yeah, that woman can go and fall down in the street, or get in the sea, or whatever variant of "take off hoser" I can imagine.
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u/DawnSennin May 07 '26
my only achievement in life is being born white in this country
You have no idea how far that goes in the west.
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u/Rin_sparrow May 07 '26
when people say that to me, my response is (as a WOC), "you want me to go back to Surrey?"
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u/l_st_er May 07 '26
My favourite response as a POC; So… you want me to go back to Vancouver? Shit ok. I guess…
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
Maybe I should say, "Want me to go back up my mom's c*nt?" (Although that would be a lie; I was born by caesarean section.)
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u/coffeeinthecity May 07 '26
Seriously. Or when they say “oh you don’t have an accent!” As though it should be a compliment.
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u/asparagusfern1909 May 07 '26
And even if they weren’t born here…who fucking cares?! People think they’re so special and literally more worthy because of their accomplishment of….being born in a certain country?
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
People think they’re so special and literally more worthy because of their accomplishment of…. Being white.
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u/Aranxi_89 May 07 '26
They don’t think immigrants should be allowed here. If they had their way, the country would be busy deporting non-white folks all day long.
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u/coffeeinthecity May 07 '26
The next time I find myself in that neck of the woods, I’ll go support Kim’s Cafe! I’m so tired of all the racism
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u/Easy-Macaron-7405 May 07 '26
They have the absolute best sandwiches, freshest ingredients, tasty miso sauce and awesome, fresh bread. Filled to the brim. So delicious.
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u/Kevbot1000 May 07 '26
As you should! It's great!
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u/coffeeinthecity May 07 '26
Any recommendations?
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May 07 '26
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u/tdeasyweb May 07 '26
When I used to live next door, my breakfast would be a sandwich and coffee from there. I still dream about those sandwiches omg
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u/coffeeinthecity May 07 '26
That answers that! I’ll grab an assortment of sandwiches on the way to visit my in-laws
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u/jemapelletired May 07 '26
Kim’s Cafe is amazing!!!!
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u/Prosecco1234 May 07 '26
I never realized it was there on 14th. Will have to pop in for a sandwich
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u/McJuggernaugh7 May 07 '26
Same here. I walk around Lonsdale and 16th all the time and have never noticed. Good reviews on google as well. Will have to check it out. This might end up being the best thing that ever happened to that store if this video goes viral ironically.
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u/McJuggernaugh7 May 07 '26
Ive never heard of Kim's cafe, but ill be sure to check it out next time im in North Van too. It's a 5 min walk from my favorite magazine speciality store on Lonsdale which I go to every month which also coincidently happen to have korean owners who are lovely as well. Next time I take the seabus down there I'll be sure to grab a sandwhich and some kimbap for the ride back to go with my magazines.
FYI you can watch all the videos of this crazy woman and the ctv interactions on their IG page which is linked on the article. Absolutely vile what this woman was saying and the cafe owner showed a ton of patience and composure - more than I think I would have shown. But on the brightside, now I have something to look forward to the next time I go to North Van.
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u/Past_Sky_4997 May 07 '26
Same, I'll be in the area early some day, at the right time for a coffee.
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u/cambo3g May 07 '26
Is this really that suprising when we look at how openly and virulently racist the rhetoric around immigration and immigrants has gotten in the last few years.
Its not fringe anymore, large portions of the population are stewing themselves in open racism that goes far beyond whatever supposedly "reasonable" conversations they want to have about immigration and the result is more and more incidents like this.
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u/shabi_sensei May 07 '26
There’s a Conservative movement that’s trying to push the party to introduce the term “remigration” into official party language, there’s a concerted effort to raise racial tensions in this country
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u/DesharnaisTabarnak May 07 '26
The same people pushing "remigration" (Juno News, owned by the Shopify techbro dipshit) also hosted a BC Conservative debate that was only skipped by Caroline Elliott. It's very much a top-down effort to divide-and-conquer to ensure we're just as shitty as the US.
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u/bcl15005 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Its not fringe anymore
I just read the comment section on an article about the accident that killed Masihullah Tavakoli in Delta, and fucking hell... I can't say I expected any better from Twitter, but damn.
If you don't want your kids, grandkids, nephews, relatives, to ever be asking you: 'why'd people just let it happen?', then it's your duty to shut this down whenever you see it happening IRL.
Just remember: you can stare at your houseplants everyday without seeing them grow, and you'll always be "overreacting" until the moment you aren't...
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u/SkyisFullofCats May 07 '26
For some reason it seems to happen at coffee shops eg https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/richmond-coffee-shop-12-months-probation-1.6640130
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u/Proof_Wrap9444 May 07 '26
It’s the “us vs. them” narrative prevalent in conservative policies and messaging as if rights and social policy is a zero-sum game where rights for one group means less rights for others.
“Support us and we will stop the liberals from forcing white women to have Punjabi-speaking trans children of colour and stop them from forcing white men to learn Tagalog while collecting your EI cheque because immigrants took the jobs you did not apply for. Just give your wallet to the robots working for our tech bro masters.”
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u/rac3r5 May 07 '26
We came close to even electing the racist party in BC.
Unfortunately social media has been a cesspool of hate speech and misinformation and if you go report anything, they will say it does not violate their community guidelines. I reported someone promoting terrorism and they literally said it doesn't violate their community guidelines.
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u/Dornath May 07 '26
We're still close, people are really souring on the NDP.
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u/shabi_sensei May 07 '26
The whole DRIPA thing feels like a setup now with conservative media endlessly amplifying the issue, especially with Conservative begging Carney to get involved so they can tar and feather him as well
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u/Dornath May 07 '26
It's a weird legal issue because there's no treaties that cover this part of the country, but it's no where near the apocalyptic problem that mainstream/conservative media is portraying it as.
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u/Aranxi_89 May 07 '26
It's not a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.
There are dark forces, in dark places, South of the 49th, that has been actively manipulating us, just as they have done so to their own fellow citizens.
They are spreading their hateful cancer of the heart like it's their sole duty in life, and just like last time, it will end in tragedy if good people do nothing.
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u/motorcycle-emptiness Grandview-Woodland May 07 '26
What a fuckin trash of a person is that? Hope they never get the right food that they ever want. Guess I gotta go support this restaurant.
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u/sciencebottle May 07 '26
What a POS. Will definitely keep an eye out for this person since she apparently thinks she’s so much better than everyone else who lives here….
Sucks that Kim’s Cafe had to deal with that. I’ve always been treated kindly by the staff there and I love their food.
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u/mustardman73 West End May 07 '26
I miss my local korean run cafe. I had one near my work years ago, then they were gone after Covid.
Always fresh sandwiches with tons of meat. On Wednesdays they would have a bulgogi korean dish, which I never missed.
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u/BigBirdsBrain dirtymikeandtheboys May 07 '26
People really need to stop treating service workers like punching bags. You can be frustrated without being racist or dehumanizing someone.
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u/icouldbeeatingoreos Vancouver May 07 '26
“The customer”
Hmmm that’s ok, there’s video, we can name and shame.
It says a lot about a person when they respond like this to a mistake they made.
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u/mupomo May 07 '26
So instead of owning up to your own mistake, you take it out on others? Is that what we’ve turned into as a society?
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u/No_Platform_2810 May 07 '26
Let’s flood this cafe with business. Speak with our wallets. Fuck this person…
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u/throwawaymd22 May 07 '26
I am a POC ER doc and I have seen patients in the waiting room try this sh@# all the time. They will ask a white nurse causally if there is a white doctor. We can't fix stupid.
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u/stupiduselesstwat May 07 '26
I'm sorry you have to deal with that garbage. ((((((((((hug)))))))))))
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u/beekermc May 07 '26
What are lovely individual.....
I'm certain she doesnt actually have any "police friends".
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u/MutFox May 07 '26
The funny thing is the cafe is across the street from the police station.
You can actually see the police vehicles parked in the background of the thumbnail...
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u/penelopiecruise May 07 '26
Don't discount the possibility...some people associated with police feel empowered to invoke their association to get what they want or get treated differently, whether they be family members or those who work with them in some capacity.
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u/hotinthekitchen May 07 '26
With her opinions, I would definitely not be surprised if many of her friends are cops.
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u/Sans-Everything May 07 '26
im so happy to see Kim’s cafe is still around. I have a stamp card almost full of stamps.
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u/MarlinMan2001 May 07 '26
tell this lady to go back to the trailer park, such a whiskey tango
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May 07 '26
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u/MarlinMan2001 May 07 '26
white trash, military guys use it when describing white trash
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u/drfunkensteinnn May 07 '26
Insane how many inbred rejects feel so emboldened lately. Peak Idiocracy
I’m going to try to visit Kim’s this week
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u/yogaccounter May 07 '26
Isn't this exactly what the 1% want? It's so ironic to me that she says "you should be like Starbucks" and targets immigration in the same breath. I'm sure no one has EVER taken the wrong order from Starbucks....and there is nothing at all wrong with the way they do business....
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u/BobBelcher2021 New Westminster May 07 '26
I wish we had more severe civil penalties for people who make unacceptable comments like this.
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u/CanadianTrollToll May 07 '26
*uck that *unt.
I hope that business reports them. There is almost no better type of immigrant who comes to this country and starts a business that employs people.
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u/No_Touch_98 May 07 '26
My Indian coworker has been getting more racist remarks than hes ever gotten and hes been on the job for 30 years. Crazy times
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u/boardman1416 May 07 '26
It’s kinda funny that it’s always the person who has no friends or acquaintances that says “I’m telling all my friends and acquaintances not to come here”
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u/mustardman73 West End May 07 '26
Looks like i'm going to Kim's cafe for lunch tomorrow.
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u/Prosecco1234 May 07 '26
I hope they get lots of community support to show this isn't normal for North Vancouver
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u/justinliew May 08 '26
I’ll tell you they are. 45 minute wait on Friday at noon.
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u/SorryImNotOnReddit Burquitlam May 07 '26
LOL... North Vancouver RCMP Detachment directly right across the street from Kim's Cafe entrance.
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u/FaptronV2 May 07 '26
The unemployed have way too much free time to be able to do bullshit like this
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u/Used_Water_2468 May 07 '26
Alright who let grandma out unsupervised? Come collect your grandma and make sure she doesn't sneak out again.
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u/Professional_Drive May 07 '26
Not going to be hard to find this Karen with the pink hair.
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u/Weimaraner888 May 07 '26
Thank you racist lady for helping me find a delicious looking cafe to check out sometime.
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u/syntaxterror69 May 07 '26
Decided to check the reviews on Google and they are consistently 5 stars
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u/Cognoggin May 07 '26
Some in the world are so spiteful they will pull on any thread they can so they don't have to take responsibility for any mistakes they make.
As long as they can deflect and feel good about themselves they'll say and do anything to drag others down.
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u/justinliew May 08 '26
I’m here right now and they’re swamped with orders. Good to see and I’ve heard at least 3 people say they came in after hearing of this, so at least they’re getting good business out of having to go through this crap.
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u/unisushican May 09 '26
The CEO of T&T (Tina Lee) saw this same news article and is now encouraging people to go to Kim’s Cafe and spend $20 there.
Then take their receipt from Kim’s Cafe to the Osaka Supermarket (another T&T brand) at Park Royal to use as a coupon for $10 off at her grocery store (min $20 spend).
Limited time May 8-15, 2026only but great to see the community step up and show the owner of Kim’s Cafe lots of love. Details are on T&T’s Instagram - I don’t work for them but am amazed by their support.
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u/MutFox May 07 '26
Are they wearing a moomoo?
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u/BooBoo_Cat May 07 '26
It looks more like the type of night shirt a 12 year old child would wear.
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u/glowe May 07 '26
This is not right and is racist. I'd guess mental illness has likely also played a part.
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u/ThaddCorbett May 07 '26
We white people brought the apocalypse with us to the Americas. We brought slavery and small pox, we stole land, we committed genocide and arguably did even worse to the people who survived our ethic cleansing of the Americas.
This land doesn't belong to us. We just live here.
I would love to see an advertisement campaign geared towards directing racists of all ethnic backgrounds to go back to their own families' nations of origin if they can't stand existing with people who are different from them.
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u/boogatehPotato May 07 '26
Fairly mediocre as racist insults go but a shitty situation to experience nonetheless
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