Angel's Café relocates to Carstairs after water pipe construction displaces 28-year business
The beloved Bow River coffee shop was moved and placed in storage while the city replaces the Bearspaw South Feeder Main near Edworthy Park.
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For almost 30 years, Cathy Jacobs built up her Calgary coffee business, most recently serving java by Edworthy Park along the banks of the Bow River. That was until the city's main water line broke, and municipal officials wrapped up and hauled away her shop — lock, stock and latte — plunking it down on wood blocks.
It now sits beside a dormant Oldsmobile in storage near her new coffee house, 50 kilometres away, across from lowing cattle beside dust-tailed trucks on a gravel road between Crossfield and Carstairs.
"You don't spend your life in one location for 28 years and suddenly you're not there anymore and not be affected by it," Jacobs said.
The city said it would store the old café building for as long as three years, maybe less. Then she could go home again. She's not sure she will.
"Our friends need us home," said Jacobs. "(But) the world's going to look very different (in) two to three years. The world looks different in four months."
Her coffee story began in 1998, when she bought a food truck called Angela's Ice Cream. She later changed the name to Angel's Café after spotting repeated references to angels — messengers — that resonated with her philosophy of serving her community.
Calgary's Bearspaw South Feeder Main first burst in June 2025, causing water restrictions. Less than 18 months later, it burst again in the week after Christmas. City council realized the main was effectively dead, and it was time to replace it. Mayor Jeromy Farkas promised an accelerated repair by the end of this year.
Angel's Café was one of two businesses displaced by the construction. The city said it took an "empathetic approach" to save the building rather than demolish it, though Jacobs said she went through turbulent and unpredictable talks with city officials before the building was picked up and shipped out. She said she believes she should have been compensated by the city for the building rather than seeing it moved and stored for a costly future revival. She's also stuck paying the mortgage while the building collects dust.
The city said it has paid for the removal and storage of the café building for up to three years, after which the café can reopen at the same site. The new Angel's Café is part of Irvine Tack and Western Wear. A grand opening was held late last month.
