Greens & Beans Deli Cafe

If customers try to cut the line at Greens and Beans Deli, they may find themselves suddenly listening to Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello,” one of the sound clips that ready to go at the push of a button, a tongue-in-check way of letting people know the rules at the New Westminster deli. "We also have a  button that plays the Jeopardy theme when people take a long time to place their order," says Matthew Green, who co-owns and operates Greens and Beans with his mother, Leona Green. Yet another button plays a list of the bread choices offered when a customer asks (the options are also listed on the giant chalk menu behind the register).

Greens and Beans was first opened in 1994, and, Matthew explains, “Mom’s been in this business for a long time, so she’s added a bunch of details to keep things interesting, like the buttons and the train,."

The train that Matthew is referring to is a model train travels from the Greens and Beans’ counter to its front window, delivering sandwiches to hungry customers along the way. It’s one of the many whimsical touches  at this neighbourhood gem, and it’s got a history of its own. The train track was installed in 2013 as a part of a fundraiser to aid the Quebecois town of Lac-Mégantic after the rail disaster that occurred there.