This is East Van (and why we love it)

“Main street.”
“East Van.”
“SOMA”
(ok, no one actually called it that around here, but some marketers in the city sure were trying to push it for awhile. ‘South Main’. Pretty easy to say it just like that, don’t you think?).

All of these mean so many different things depending on where you grew up or where you live or work currently in Vancouver. I still hear some people talk about East Van skeptically as if anything much further east of Cambie is a bit too dodgy. And yet for anyone who lives or works in these parts (and let’s be honest, “east” is a vast area of the city) gritty is probably closer to the bottom of the list of what comes immediately to mind than the top.

Some of the edges are being chipped away at by the nondescript chains that like to muscle-in everywhere and anywhere – yawn – but the independent coffee shops (we’ll need to dedicate an entire blog post to how many amazing coffee houses are just steps away from us!), restaurants, and boutiques are standing firm as best as they (and we) are able and out of that grows community. Two other words that come to my mind when thinking about our neighbourhood? Passion. Creativity.

People are passionate about where they eat, what they drink (and where they’ll drink it), what they wear (and no, it is not *just* a stereotypical hipster aesthetic that is showcased in these parts, thank you very much). There is a constant stream of creativity and expression in one form or another and I personally never really know what to expect anymore. That is something to celebrate.

What is this post about? Well really I just wanted to share the latest This is East Van project. Click on over to their site to learn more and heads up because the launch party is this Saturday!

When setting up a business there are so many factors that come into play when choosing a location. You can agonize and weigh so many pros and cons and look at demographics, but at the end of the day you really just think to yourself where do I want to be?  My vote, four years ago, was for Main street and today? Main street. Welcome to our East Van!

~Nicole
xo