Change is inevitable living in a city. But it seems Vancouver has finally caught up to the likes of New York City and San Francisco in terms of its over heated real estate market and skyrocketing rents. Higher property values also mean higher rents and taxes for small business owners. That's if a developer doesn't snap up their property for redevelopment and evict them first. A recent story on Global News saw the owner of a donair shop on Robson Street paying $14,500.00 a month in rent. Of course this isn't the case city wide but small business owners certainly have their work cut out for them trying to make a go of it in Vancouver. So in 2015 I set out to document many of the city's storefronts. Not your high end boutiques or chain stores but rather smaller independent shops with a bit more personality. The colourful and quirky rather than the chic and trendy. This is Storefront Vancouver.
Kingsway
The 600 block of Kingsway near Fraser Street is a throwback to an older Vancouver. Many of the buildings date from the early 1900's or 1920's and house an eclectic collection of businesses. From a produce store, fish market, beauty shop, lawnmower store, restaurant supply store, a funky eatery, and of course being Vancouver a marijuana dispensary. But I'm sure somewhere out there is a developer scheming to tear them all down and build condos.
Chinatown
Vancouver's Chinatown has been in decline for some time now. Soaring real estate values and changes in the way people shop have left many empty storefronts. There is an influx of new blood with hipster coffee shops and new restaurants popping up on Pender and Keefer Streets. The City's solution to revitalizing the area is to let developer's build condominium towers. Unfortunately many of the new buildings look more like Yaletown than Chinatown taking away from the area's historic charm. Only time will tell if Chinatown can hang in there.
The Drive
Commercial Drive in East Vancouver is still home to a pretty diverse community. Also known as Little Italy it's been a longtime destination for coffee shop culture. But in the last five years The Drive has been steadily changing with more and more upscale restaurants and boutiques appearing on the scene. Today Joe's Cafe is starting to look a little tired with the younger crowd choosing the more zen like Moja Cafe just down the street. Shops like Mark's Pet Stop are kind of unique being a real neighbourhood pet supply store. They seem to be doing well despite a big chain operation doing business just a few blocks away. Gone are places like The Peg, Drive Organics, Dream Designs, Latin Quarter, Urban Empire, Florida Market, the Kitchen Corner, Leiria Cafe and Renzo's Tailors. But one thing is certain The Drive will continue to evolve.
207 Union Street
Much has been written about the little red building at 207 Union Street. Until recently it was home to the funky Jimi Hendrix Shrine but it's since moved downtown to 432 Homer Street. In another life the little place was an out building for Vie's Chicken and Steak House which was located in an old house next door until it was torn down in 1979. Apparently Jimi's grandmother Nora used to work at Vie's and he would sometimes come by and visit her when he was in town. This old building is one of the last links to Hogan's Alley which was levelled when the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts were built in the early 1970's. The owner Vincent Fodera has since sold his properties to developers and the building now sits empty. But he's promising a 32 foot tall Jimi Hendrix statue will be built on the site!
Renfrew Street
The storefronts at Renfrew Street and East 1st Avenue are another example of old buildings that are falling victim to Vancouver's densification onslaught. Almost the entire city block will be levelled for a new mixed use development. Some of the buildings are probably much older than they look as the block has served the neighbourhood since the time when the Interurban line ran along 1st Avenue. There will probably be stores in the new building but I'm sure they'll be nowhere nearly as affordable as the old ones. In the mean time the block has been empty for many, many months and the new development appears to be stalled.
Hastings Strip
I photographed this row of old storefronts just before they were demolished along with the Pantages Theatre back in 2011. The stores date from the early 1900's and had many different incarnations over the years. The storefront on the left at 134 East Hastings was the Golden Gate Cafe during the late 1930's and 1940's and once sported a tall neon sign with a coffee cup at the top. The storefront in the center at 132 was a billiards hall over the years. The storefront on the right at 130 East Hastings was the once famous Blue Eagle Cafe which was there from 1944 until the year 2000. The spot was also home to a location of The White Lunch during the 1930's. The space had amazing tile work in the interior and luckily the fabulous Blue Eagle neon sign was acquired by the Museum of Vancouver back in 2010.
Credits:
All Photos by John Allison