“There are a lot of places down here that are the old standbys,” says Lee Rafferty, executive director of Vancouver’s Downtown Association (VDA). “And those places are still well-loved… but we’ve added more layers. There’s something for everybody now and there really wasn’t three years ago. A lot of the bars that were downtown, that were falling off the edge and weren’t sustainable, those are gone now. Meanwhile, the ones that have staying power are working together to make downtown a destination – a place for people to come, kick back, enjoy [with] their friends and music; a fun and safe place to be.”
One of Washington Street’s newest additions is Low Bar, which opened in late November of last year. “We’ve been doing really well,” says Claire Ghormley, one of the founding partners. “We have a dedicated customer base and new people coming in all the time.”
With Low Bar, says Ghormley, “We wanted to do something that wasn’t already here. We tried to create an atmosphere where you’re able to talk to the person across from you, a relaxed atmosphere with good food and good drinks at a good price.”
Low Bar uses all local suppliers, makes every item on their menu from scratch, and specializes in classic cocktails.
“We sort of wanted to go for a classy dive bar feel,” says Ghormley.
Leah Jackson, who opened Main Street’s art gallery Angst and its neighboring wine bar Niche over the last few years, says that Vancouver’s nightlife scene is definitely diversifying.
“My audience is growing,” she says, “and I do actually have people starting to come over here from Portland – something that would have been inconceivable to Portlanders a few years ago, to come over to Vancouver to go out.”
Jackson has been very active with downtown events like the First Friday art walk, and the new Drink This! event, which ran for the second time in early January. Jackson had the idea for Drink This! from “looking around at the art walk that we have once a month, and thinking about how many beverage makers we have within walking distance.”
Jackson adds, “Julie Smith from Burnt Bridge Cellars really organized the event and made it successful. I had more than 100 people in during the last one, and at least half had never been to Niche before.”
This increase in customers benefits all of the businesses downtown, Jackson notes.
“Even if a person that comes through never comes back to Niche, if they had a good time they’ll tell their friends. It gives people a sense that there is something happening downtown, and not just on First Fridays.”
The Kiggins Theatre, downtown’s art deco movie theater, has also been a part of bringing more people downtown more often. Owner Dan Wyatt says the theater is settling into its niche, playing smaller film releases, classics and independent movies. He’s also working with a coalition of other owners of small theaters, to lobby the state legislature for a bill that would allow limited alcohol service within the theater, much like what’s offered at Portland’s McMenamins movie theaters.
“I feel like the Kiggins is probably in the best spot it’s been in for years,” he says. And if the alcohol bill passes, he feels it will only help.
“Yes, it’ll increase our revenues, but it’ll also increase people’s options.”
“It’s not hard to be positive about what’s happening downtown,” adds Rafferty at the VDA. “We have more people working here, which means more people playing here. And some new developments will focus on residential. This is the mix we need. Smart money is investing down here.”
