our story
“hi there, we’re Jan and Eilnaz!
we moved here from belgium in 2011 with nothing but 2 suitcases, mainly filled with dreams. one of those dreams was to start a small tea house. we needed something unique to go with that and we thought it would be fun to make something from our own culture, waffles!
our journey
we started a tiny waffle shop on robson street in 2012, which soon became known for its authentic brussels & liège waffles but also for its long line ups.
we had a full house most of the times and so we created mini liège waffles as a great take out product for those who could not snag a seat in the shop. The waffle craze did not stop and so we opened a more spacious second location in 2016.
waffles for brunch become more and more popular and so we started doing eggs benedict on waffles in 2018.
oh no, line ups again!
despite being able to seat over 70 people, nero quickly became a hub for weekend brunch. and with fresh dough and batter made from scratch every day, we soon found ourselves running out of space to keep up with both locations.
so in 2024, we opened a third location in south granville. a long, narrow storefront with a lot going on behind the scenes! not only can you find our mini liège waffles in more flavours than you can imagine, but it’s also where we make the dough and batter for all our locations.
and remember when we had to turn down requests for 200 or more mini waffles? well, those days are over! we now make and bake hundreds (or even thousands!) of mini waffles for parties, events and offices. and yes, we’ll even deliver them right to you!
and what's next?
who knows exactly what the future will bring? what we do know is that we want to keep doing what we love: making great waffles and being part of the communities we care so deeply about.
could that mean a new location on the north shore? quite possibly! when will that happen? when the time is right. and when it fits with everything else that matters in life.
because one thing we don’t plan on changing is that nero is, and will remain, an independent, locally owned family business. and that’s exactly how we like it!
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