Buy Local East Village | unceded territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations
When you buy local, you support businesses that supports an eco-system of other local businesses in the community — from farmers and growers to makers and manufacturers, to business support service providers, like graphic designers and credit unions. So many of East Village businesses are committed to buying local and supporting a strong community — discover the stories of how East Village businesses keep your community strong!
The B.C. Buy Local campaign encourages consumers to shift at least 1% of their spending — just $15 — to a local business, or a local grown or local made product. If all consumers make a 1% shift, it will create 3,100 jobs and sends $94M in wages to workers in B.C. Check out more reasons to buy local.
Hastings North BIA (East Village) is a strong partner of B.C. Buy Local Week, with neighbourhood businesses using our posters and stickers to identify locally owned stores, local grown and local made products, and our poster to tell us how they support other local businesses. Read the stories of how the area’s businesses impact the community – excepts below or the full stories can be found here.
About East Village
The East Village is located within two historic neighbourhoods situated in the heart of East Vancouver: Hastings Sunrise and Grandview-Woodland. We are a community that has a long heritage of cultural diversity, as well as a dedication to fostering unique businesses that capture the real flavour of what it means to be from East Vancouver. The East Village includes two unique and historically significant neighbourhoods. Between Clark Drive and Nanaimo Street lies historic Grandview-Woodland, home to some of the city’s earliest industrial activity. In the mid to late 1800’s, the neighbourhood’s economic centre was located at Cedar Cove, on the south shore of Burrard Inlet. This area, at the foot of Victoria Drive, was called Khupkhahpay’ay, the Squamish word for cedar tree. Today this diverse residential and commercial area is still home to many First Nations, with one in ten residents identifying themselves as either Aboriginal or Métis.
Grandview-Woodland began to develop in the early 1800’s when the first European settlers arrived. Upon their arrival, this district became home to various mills, Columbia Brewery and a slaughterhouse. With the growing development, and the construction of the interurban rail line, the area became home to labourers and residents alike. The area was called Grandview-Woodland, originally a reference to a hand-painted sign, hung at the interurban streetcar stop at 1st Avenue and Commercial. In 1891, Park Drive was completed, and was used as logging road for the timber mills at Cedar Cove, but had the dual purpose of a streetcar service. With more businesses entering the area, Park Drive was renamed “Commercial Drive” by local merchants who felt the name would attract more business to the area. Today Commercial Drive is a very diverse neighbourhood, home to over 27,000 residents. This ever-growing area features a diverse collection of shops, cuisine and culture and is as a gem for the city of Vancouver.
The East Village is the business district in Grandview-Woodland and Hastings-Sunrise, two neighbourhoods many call home. Meet the people of The East Village. The people who love the community, know local residents by name and couldn’t imagine working, living, being anywhere else.
