Our Shop

Our Shop

We are working daily to create a community-oriented coffee shop that gives the best experience possible for our incredible customers. 

At Switchboard Cafe, we pride ourselves on providing speciality coffee to Salt Spring Island and all that visit us. We make in-house snacks with plant-based, GF and vegan options and work with our favourite island bakers to offer great local treats. Our retail shelf is loaded with options for on-the-go coffee lovers. We also sell art from community artists.

In the 1940s, our cafe building was a telephone exchange building, or a ‘switchboard’ - so we turned it into Switchboard Cafe. Back then, it connected people through phones - now we connect people over coffee.

Our favourite part about running Switchboard Cafe is the people. Always the people. We feel connected to so many people through the cafe and are blown away by the amount of support we get from the community. 

Sustainability is something that is always on our minds. Some of the ways we are working towards a more sustainable business are: 

  • Working with sustainable roasters that directly pay their producers higher than the market value

  • Encouraging customers to bring their own cups for drinks.

  • Offering bulk coffee beans with reusable jars, or customers can bring their own containers.

  • Collecting all our coffee grinds and compostable food to go to local farms

  • Replacing our refrigeration units to higher efficient models

  • Using all compostable containers (not a perfect solution but headed in the right direction)

  • Collecting and sending those containers to the proper commercial composter

What others are saying about Switchboard Cafe: 


“I really appreciate how I have always felt welcome at Switchboard Cafe. It somehow feels like no matter how busy they are, the staff will ask with authenticity, ‘how are you?’” 

“The cafe has truly become a space to connect, not just through great coffee and food, but the many paintings, pottery, and other local creations that fill the space with beauty. Thank you for adding so much to our little island!”