ACME brand taking over the DTES?

ACME appears to be enjoying a bit of a brand resurgence here in Vancouver’s inner-city! For several months now, ACME Cafe has won the hearts of locals with fantastic sandwiches, pies and refreshments and has proven a great spot for working lunches. But just down the street at 108 E. Hastings hangs another ACME sign for an altogether different enterprise.

Recently taken over by local patron of the arts, David Duprey, the front of 108 W Hastings is hard to miss as the neon sign shines with a playful mix of neon blue, red, orange and yellow in a style that combines both a 1950s and 1980s feel (in my humble opinion). Duprey had the sign idea several months before ACME Cafe opened, for a location approved for one of the City’s Great Beginnings initiative facade improvement grants . The Great Beginnings initiative (along with other initiatives relating to the Downtown Eastside Revitalization program) has helped shine up several beautiful old buildings that had fallen into disrepair and disuse. Now, as is the case with Duprey’s 108 E. Hastings location, these buildings are filling up with entrepreneurial and cultural activities. Shops, restaurants, cafes and galleries are all able to take advantage of the affordable rents, newly painted and cleaned facades and enjoy the comfortable and spacious layouts of these classic buildings thanks to the vision and sweat equity of entrepreneurs like Duprey and the support of the City. The neon signs outside many of them are the real icing on the cake, but a very important icing. They celebrate the rich history of Hastings (and much of Vancouver) when it was the neon capital of Canada, rivaled only by Las Vegas itself! A reminder of the once vibrant and important role this neighbourhood played in our city, and an inspiring statement that a brighter future lay ahead.

So what does ACME mean? Rumored to be an acronym for A Company Making Everything, ACME is remembered by most for being the favorite brand of Wile E. Cyote. Employing the use of everything from rocket powered skis, to dynamite, to giant rubber bands, ACME supplied everything Wile E. needed in his endless quest to catch the Roadrunner or Bugs Bunny. In the 1930s though,  there was in fact a surge of businesses named either Ace or Acme, believed largely due to the fact that phone books and other directories began to be organized alphabetically. AAA being another obvious choice. The word acme itself is derived from the Greek word that means zenith or peak, and in the case of Warner Bros and Looney Tunes, is quite ironic. Poor Wile E. never had a venture half as successful as David Duprey or Acme Cafe.

If you have a business idea and need an affordable space, get in touch with BOB today. See our previous post for more information.