A week after the landlord said no, Lance Verhoeff was scrolling Craigslist and found the same Fort Langley building listed for sale. He went back with the ad in hand. This time his family got a lease with an option to buy, What's Brewing magazine reported in 2019.

The building is a wooden replica of a pioneer-era trading post, built in the 1980s, the magazine says. Since May 2016 it's been Trading Post Eatery, at 9143 Glover Road.

A Calgary kid who found breweries in Vancouver

Lance grew up in Calgary in a Dutch family that loved hosting Sunday lunch. He came west to Trinity Western in 2006, and at six-foot-nine he became a basketball standout. Later, living in Kitsilano with his wife Marissa, he got hooked on the city's tasting rooms. Back near Fort Langley, he thought, "Where are the breweries in Langley?"

His dad Paul's first reaction was, "Why don't we make wine instead?" Lance took his father and uncle Stephen on brewery trips to East Van and Oregon, and they signed on as partners. Trading Post Brewing opened on 64 Avenue in February 2016.

Marissa's naming idea

Lance's first name idea was Historic Brewing, he admitted to What's Brewing. Then he read that Fort Langley had been a Hudson's Bay Company trading post, a place where people gathered. Marissa suggested the obvious. He Googled it, and nobody had taken it.

The beer names lean on local history too. At launch, the Langley Advance Times listed an 1827 Helles Lager and Captain Cooper's Cranberry Ale.

The fries people mention first

The Eatery's menu changes with the seasons and uses produce from farms around the Fraser Valley, the company says. Regulars still tell you to start with the sweet heat fries. "The sweet heat fries are the best fries we have ever had. Do yourself a favor and get them!" one longtime customer wrote. "We have never had a bad meal."

A family who came for lunch liked the chicken and waffles, and called the margarita and sangria "refreshing, and perfect for the patio vibe."

Patio weather, most of the year

The patio's the big draw. It's heated, so it works year-round, and in summer there's a turfed patio out in the parking lot, the restaurant says. One family called the covered patio "perfect for a sunny day." Peak summer afternoons can get hot, though, and one Father's Day group waited 30 minutes for a table.

Walk in on the Fort-to-Fort Trail

One regular has the perfect plan: "I love that I can travel the Fort to Fort Trail, enjoy a beer flight and great burger!" The trail follows the Fraser for about 6 km, so you can earn those fries on foot. Spring and summer seating is first come, first served. For a group booking in the cooler months, email the Eatery through tradingpostbrewing.com/fort-langley.

Sources: What's Brewing (Dave Smith, Mar. 18, 2019), Langley Advance Times (Troy Landreville, Feb. 8, 2016), Georgia Straight (Lucy Lau, Feb. 11, 2016), tradingpostbrewing.com (About and Fort Langley pages, Oct. 2026), Parks Canada (Fort-to-Fort Trail length), Google reviews (via live post).