THEY’VE GOT THAT GIVING FEELING
About 50 per cent of restaurants are struggling to survive as inflation hits them on all fronts, but there's still a lot of giving going on. B.C. restaurants are the first to support community fundraisers and they don't crow about it. So allow me.
Jennifer Rossi, co-owner of the Kitchen Table group of restaurants (Ask for Luigi, Bacaro, Carlino, Di Beppe, Farina a Legna, Pizzeria Farina, and Pourhouse) says, yes, times are tough right now. But she considers giving back to be a priority.
“We don't even look at it as an option. We make it doable,” she says.
And what do they do? For several years, they've picked a monthly charity and each of the restaurants contributes $1 from every sale of a popular dish.
“We operate in and around the Downtown Eastside and we feel it's the responsibility of doing business in the area to give back,” says Rossi. Donations have gone to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, B.C. Hospital Foundation, Music Heals Charitable Foundation, Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society, B.C. Children's Hospital Foundation, Eastside Boxing Club, Growing Chefs, Whole Way House Society, Backpack Buddies, Mind the Bar, and Saint James Music Academy.
Donations range from $1,500 to $2,000 per month. “For some of the smaller organizations, that's quite a lot,” she says.
The Glowbal Restaurant Group (Glowbal, Coast, Black and Blue, The Roof, Trattoria, Italian Kitchen, NOSH, Five Sails) generously feeds families as part of the Vancouver Firefighter Charities' Snacks for Kids program, which feeds youth and their families in over 60 schools.
The Glowbal restaurants have been donating 250 meals every week since 2020, which volunteer firefighters distribute. They took a hiatus last December because of industry-wide staff shortages but plan to be back on track this spring.
At Chai Ghai in downtown Vancouver, owner Sunil Ghai follows what his mummyji, or grandmother, taught him — a love of tea and seva, a philosophy of quiet giving.
“It's the selfless act of giving. Mummyji passed it down to me at an early age and it's the centre of everything we do at Chai Ghai,” says Ghai. “She made me chai for every ailment, for every event in my life, using different spices. She had so many recipes, all doing different things for health. The family used them as homeopathic remedies.”
The year-old tea café isn't yet profitable, but he's committed to donating two per cent of revenues to charity — the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, Sawa Worldwide, which helps youth lift themselves out of poverty, and The Foundry, which helps youth before and after mental health, substance use and health care crises.
His family operates DDS Wireless, a pioneering tech company in the transportation industry that has “done very well for the family over 35 years,” he says. “What we said was, we've made money, it's time to give back. I worked at DDS for 17 years."
He's now at the café five days a week making tea.
While Sushi Mahana is known for exquisite omakase food in North Vancouver, owner Yuki Aida is personally compelled to help others. She holds fundraising lunches to benefit the North Shore Crisis Society. In 2023, its opening year, the restaurant raised $650 and donated $500 in gift cards.
“As a survivor of family violence, I am honoured to play a small role in letting victims know there is someone looking out for them,” says Aida. “The power of believing in themselves and finding hope to start over is something we all deserve to embrace.”
Suyo Modern Peruvian Restaurant has been donating to various causes through its cocktail program. Currently, the restaurant donates $3 from each cocktail (except for the classics and zero-proof drinks) with money earmarked for organizations related to the stories behind the cocktails.
For example, funds raised from the Pacific Tides cocktail will go to the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Others are destined for the Downtown Eastside Women's Shelter, B.C. Search and Rescue, Rainforest Trust, and B.C. Wildfire Recovery Fund. In the past year, they raised just over $6,600.
“True hospitality theoretically extends beyond the four walls of our bars and restaurants to those who most need help,” says bar manager Max Curzon-Price.
Medina Café, like Anh and Chi Vietnamese restaurant, also raises charitable funds from customers by charging $10 for reservations to hold high-demand tables instead of turning them over more quickly. They've raised $60,000 since last June through reservation fees with proceeds going to CLICK (supporting inner city children), Backpack Buddies (feeds children who would go hungry over weekends), and B.C. Children's Hospital.
These are all great restaurants to visit for food and drink alone, but the charitable nature adds an extra delicious and inspiring layer, doesn't it?
Spring may have officially arrived, but beer-wise there's still time for IPA. Sure the sunlight might be lingering longer throughout the day and the blossoms may be blooming, but the evenings continue to bring a chill. There will be time for lagers and lighter beers later in the year. For now, here are three unique and bawdy full-bodied IPAs to highlight the beer style's versatility.
THE SWIRL: SHIPYARDS DISTRICT EASTER CRAWL
Ready for an adult Easter hunt? The Shipyards District in North Vancouver is hosting an Easter Crawl. Pick up a card and stop by participating establishments from March 28 to April 1 to enjoy a craft beer, wine, cider or cocktail and collect a stamp. Get six stamps and turn your card in for an official Shipyards Brewery District glass. Info at www.shipyardsbrewerydistrict.com.
Four Winds Brewing Co. Icebox Cold IPA, Delta (from $16.29 for four 473mL cans)
Cold IPAs actually make a great case for spring and summer IPA sipping. After all, cold IPAs are brewed with lager yeasts at colder temperatures, as opposed to the typical warmer temperature, topfermenting ales. The result, as espoused by Four Winds Icebox Cold IPA, presents crisp and clean like a lager, albeit with an outsized hop presences — like a typical IPA. Four Winds says it's the best of both worlds. And it's hard to disagree. Aromatic with bright tropical fruit, yet featuring a bracing bitter entry and citrusy finish, it's an engaging lip-smacker ready to pair with anything from nachos to fish tacos. Bottom line: B+, Max crispness.
Ravens Brewing Co. Dutchman IPA, Abbotsford ($3.49 for 473mL can, #112637)
Hazy IPAs, a.k.a. Northeast or New England IPAs, remain popular and tend to pair well with warmer climes thanks to their smoother profile overall and unabashed fruit forwardness. The Dutchman IPA from Abbotsford-based, Indigenous Corporation Ravens Brewing Co. is certainly up to the task. Pouring a hazy golden in the glass, it's quite aromatic with big time tropical fruit — no doubt thanks to judicious use of Mosaic hops. Juicy and smooth overall, it comes across surprisingly easygoing for such a bold, full-bodied beer and will reward pairing with everything from fish and chips to Thai curry.
Bottom line: B, Max juiciness
Strange Fellows Brewing Co Wickerman West Coast IPA, Vancouver (from $15.90 for four 473mL cans)
Then again, when you live on the West Coast pouring a West Coast IPA never goes out of fashion, or out of season. East Vancouver's Strange Fellows recently re-released their Wickerman West Coast IPA and it brings all the classic traits of the style. Brewed with four West Coast hops — or at least western hops from Yakima, WA., (Columbus, Ekuanot, Amarillo, and Simcoe) — this brash IPA is unafraid to bring earthy notes, spice, and a touch of pine and dankness to complement its citrus fruit. A backyard and a pizza oven would make for a beautiful match, as would delivery and a dining table. Bottom line: B+, Max pithiness.