I'm pleased lately to see what appears to be a major surge in interesting nightlife, dinner, and drinks hotspots in downtown Vancouver - dare I say it, a veritable "plethora" of hip places to see and be seen.
While I'm the last person to ask as to what's new and exciting in going out on the town anywhere (and believe you me, I didn't even know Niche, that lovely little wine bar next to Kiggins, has been around for four years) I'm thrilled to see places such as Dirty Hands Brewing Co. (Evergreen & Broadway), as well as actual tequila and whiskey bars elsewhere downtown - in short, places that wouldn't look out of place on Hawthorne, or in (gasp!) The Pearl.
This is exciting. Part of being a vibrant and thriving city is having an active nightlife - a downtown that closes at 5 PM is a dead center of an even deader town. Vancouver, for some reason, seems to have reached a "critical mass" of resident consumers who prefer to go out on the town north of the river, near their homes - putting their dollars where their mouths are. Having these types of businesses flourish and multiply means that folks here at home will continue to patronize downtown - attracting others (their friends, word of mouth) through the quality of indie hotspots they frequent.
I'm not saying we should think twice about "Vantucky" turning into The Pearl - we are FAR from such high holy gentrified terrain. However, people out and about at night 7 days a week, on the streets, lowers crime, fattens wallets of businesses who decided to take a chance on the Couv, provides jobs, encourages others to move here when they see - well, when they see "how much fun" we're all having.
And indeed, here in the "Wet n Wild City", we always know how to party.
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