NEW + IMPROVED

Our latest lifestyle choices

CLOTHING/ Native Shoes, the Vancouver “beast-free” shoe company started in 2009, is opening its first-ever retail location, at 14 Water Street in Gastown. In addition to Native's core footwear, the shop will sell recent additions like the water-resistant Treklite boot collection and Monaco Velcro for kids.

BEER/ Gooseneck Hospitality, the Vancouverbased restaurant group behind Lucky Taco, Bufala and Wildebeest, has launched a 150-seat beer hall with an interactive games room and projection screens showing big-league sports. Along with ballpark-inspired food, Bells and Whistles, at 3296 Fraser Street, serves local craft beers, B.C. wine and double cocktails on tap.

MEAT/ A North Vancouver supplier of ethical meat to restaurants now has a butcher shop and eatery open to the public. Two Rivers Specialty Meats– The Shop at 180 Donaghy Avenue includes a working butchery; a deli and take-away counter; and a licensed 32-seat restaurant plus a 16-seat patio.

APRÈS-SKI/ This winter, Rosewood Hotel Georgia offers a ski recovery and relaxation package. Weary skiers receive a welcome winter cocktail on arrival in their room, followed by a deep relief massage and advanced care facial at Sense, A Rosewood Spa, and a wellness breakfast the next morning. EGGS/ Vitala Foods, a sustainable dairy producer in Abbotsford, now sells free-range eggs that each contain 200 IU of vitamin D, the recommended daily dose. Its hens live in spacious, well-lit, cage-free barns with unlimited access to grass pastures outside and eat a vegetarian diet. –F.S.