It's Okay: New neighbourhood bar concept to open in Vancouver this year
One thing Vancouver is sorely lacking is the no-frills, unpretentious kind of neighbourhood bar that cities like New York and Toronto seem to have in abundance.
Maybe it’s Vancouver’s no-fun city reputation or its penchant for bright brewery taprooms instead, but there’s something about the small, sorta gritty bar that hits the spot for us.
Coming to the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood later this year is a bar that aims to heed this call.
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It’s Okay will be setting up shop at 2481 East Hastings Street – the former location of Bad Apple and, before that, What’s Up? Hot Dog.
In an email to Dished, Colin Canning of Tacofino and Blueprint – one-third of the partners that make up the team behind It’s Okay – shared a few exciting details about the upcoming spot.
“The concept is something we’ve been dreaming and researching for many years now, and it’s inspired by small neighborhood bars you’d find in cities like Montreal, Toronto, New York and Philadelphia,” Canning explained.
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It’s Okay will be “an unpretentious spot you’ve never heard of, but once inside you never want to leave and you’ve soon become a regular at.”
Both the space and the branding will be inspired by 1970s New York, with classic bar decor drawing influence from art, design and music, with a “trend-forward aesthetic” at the forefront.
As for the food and drink program, we’re told we can expect a range of snacks, salads, and sandwiches, and that the “program is meant to be accessible and approachable with curated beer lists, classic cocktails and quality table wines.”
The name It’s Okay was decided on “after many Covid park beers” and is meant to be intentionally ambiguous – “it can mean what you’d like it to, and that’s what we love about it,” Canning says.
Joining Canning as the partners behind the bar is Michael Sanderson of Labomba Floristry and Alex Dulong of Hero’s Welcome and GoodCo. Bars. The interior design will be completed by Studio Roslyn while branding will be coming at us from Bamff.
It’s Okay
Address: 2481 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
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