Front lines of Gentrification
Yesterday I went to check out a new, fancy pizzeria in East Vancouver called Pizzeria Farina. I read some good reviews of it.
Their pizza was pretty good, I have to admit, but I have to admit that
it really feels like being on the front lines of gentrification when you go there. They play "cool jazz" and there is a vintage Italian racing bicycle mounted on the exposed brick wall. Next door is the Cobalt, a rough "Punk bar" which closed last year and reopened in a tamer guise. Across the street, a biker bar was closed and reopened as a pseudo-Izakaya place catering to hipsters with indie shows and Sake Mojitos. The surrounding two blocks are a crazy mix of hostels, highway onramps, abandoned lots, planned demolitions and yoga studios. Ten blocks or so to the south is the poorest neighborhood in Canada (the Downtown Eastside).
Vancouver is weird sometimes... I was talking about it with a librarian friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood, and she said she was just glad to have another good restaurant in the area, so I guess there are many sides to the story..
Their pizza was pretty good, I have to admit, but I have to admit that
it really feels like being on the front lines of gentrification when you go there. They play "cool jazz" and there is a vintage Italian racing bicycle mounted on the exposed brick wall. Next door is the Cobalt, a rough "Punk bar" which closed last year and reopened in a tamer guise. Across the street, a biker bar was closed and reopened as a pseudo-Izakaya place catering to hipsters with indie shows and Sake Mojitos. The surrounding two blocks are a crazy mix of hostels, highway onramps, abandoned lots, planned demolitions and yoga studios. Ten blocks or so to the south is the poorest neighborhood in Canada (the Downtown Eastside).
Vancouver is weird sometimes... I was talking about it with a librarian friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood, and she said she was just glad to have another good restaurant in the area, so I guess there are many sides to the story..