EDITOR SEAN HITREC |

FRIDAY, FEB. 10,2017 |

THE VOICE 5

Lifestyles

Cooks at Neighbour's Restaurant & Pizza House prepare some Greek-style meals for their patrons. Fv4N HAGEDORN PHOTO

Families feed the block

South Vancouver eateries reflect a home-style community

= By EVAN HAGEDORN

ith family-run

taurants a signature

of South Vancouver,

many patrons and
business owners alike are watching ner-
vously as the personal touch is being
lost in many surrounding areas.

Many owners of family restaurants
in the area know their communities be-
cause they live close to their businesses
and feel part of the neighbourhood.

Neighbour’s Restaurant & Pizza
House owner, Mitsy Tsoukas, says her
Victoria Drive location is a good spot
for her business because it’s an area
where she grew up and she’s seen the
community become what it is today.

“It’s a neighbourhood we were in

res-

originally and it’s interesting to see how
the neighbourhood has evolved over the
years,” said Tsoukas, explaining that it
went from a European community to a
more multicultural neighbourhood.
Tsoukas
butes her restau-
rant's success to her
loyal customers.
“There's a lot of
change definitely
as the years go on,
a lot of other fam-
ily businesses have
closed down,” Tsou-
kas said. “We're try-
ing to hang on and
serve the community the best we can
and kind of keep it going.”

Ethel Garcia, co-owner of Roots

attri-

Bernie Maroney
LANGARA
INSTRUCTOR

Café, a licensed eatery on Main Street
and 49th Avenue, also lives in the
neighbourhood.

Located one block from Langara
College, the café is an off-campus place
where students meet for coffee and
food.

“This is a good family community, so
since we've grown up around here, we
just want to give back to the commu-
nity,” Garcia said.

Bernie Maroney, an instructor at
Langara, often dines at the café.

“I like the atmosphere,” Maroney
said.

“You can just tell the way the service
is, it’s personal service, they care what
you think of them, they care what you

think of their food, they encourage
feedback."

OTHER EATERIES

FAMILY-OWNED AND IN THE HOOD

Huang's Beef

Noodles
6940 Victoria Dr.

Tasty Wok

7180 Kerr St.

Pho Hong
6348 Fraser St.
Original Tandoori

Kitchen
7215 Main St.

Booze-free spirits as alternative

Substitutes to
classical drinks
experience and
pricetag
\W/

\ , J hile most

people are fa-

miliar with the
traditional —_ non-alcoholic
Catering to those who ab-

offer a similar

m@ By SASHA LAKIC

beers, there’s a new kick in

stain, bars and restaurants are try-

ing to replicate the drinking experience
with non-alcoholic mocktails. Products
such as Seedlip are even trying to repli-

cate specific hard liquors.

“The problem is what to
drink when you're not drink-
ing,” said Tyler Gray, president
of Seattle’s Mikuni Wild Harvest,

which distributes Seedlip locally out of

South Vancouver.

“There’s a big percentage of the

Seedlip to expand his non-alcoholic
drink menu.

milliliter bottle.
“The drink would have to taste very

population who _ — “[Mocktails] good,” said first-year Langara film arts
either can’t drink | * are very popular.” stu- dent Blake Chambers, who
because of life The problem 1S what to Tardivel wrote generally sticks to soft
circumstances, drink when you're not in an email. “We a) drinks after watching
perhaps _ they’re . : have yet to settle “29 his friends get exces-
pregnant or drinking a on a recipe for |; = sively drunk. “I've seen
breastfeeding, or — TYLER GRAY PRESIDENT OF MIKUNI WILD our mocktail ‘bad stuff happen and I
for religious rea- "HARVEST program. just don’t want to lose

sons or they sim- LL —! But there control,” he said.
is defi- A Statistics Can-
ply don’t _ nitely something interesting ada report published
drink. about Seedlip that could & in January 2016
There’s produce very interesting Pd s showed that almost a
a lot virgin cocktails for us in = = quarter of Canadians,
of fruit the future.” who were 15 years or
drinks, Though  millennials = older in 2013, did not
there’s a may one day be a tar- = drink at all for one rea-

lot of sug- get group for the fancy & son or another.
ary drinks, and distilled dry drinks a “I just find it a waste
there’s an increasing — consuming less a of money,” said biology
number of interesting alcohol than previ- © student Julie Newton, who
non-alcoholic cocktail mix- ous _ generations, q S prefers to drink at home, if
ers, like shrubs and drink- according to the a) L EB S  atall.

: ing vinegars.” latest Statistics rua d, 1 ) if an iD a “My boyfriend’s a marathon
Cooper Canada numbers - : ; fe” _ runner, so he doesn’t drink.
? Tardivel, the — products like & ge When we go out together,
head bartend- —_Seedlip are on the . : what’s the point of me getting

er at Hawksworth
Restaurant is formulating cocktails for

pricey end of the
scale at $50 per 700

, drunk and him having to watch
J me?”

The case
of the
Lonely
Lion

A South Van family
woke up to find one of
their beloved concrete

pets missing from the
front porch

™ By RICA TALAY

New Year, a South Vancouver
household is mourning the loss of
one of their front porch pets.

On Dec. 31, Bea Chan was devas-
tated to find that one of her lion stat-
ues was not sitting opposite its partner,
where it had been for 34 years.

“It’s sentimental, it’s part of the fam-
ily,” Chan said. “If you lose a dog or a
cat, it’s that kind of feeling.”

Her daughter Adrienne posted an ad
on Craigslist under the name “Lonely
Lion” — the feline now sitting solo
on the porch. Though it was partly in
jest, the Chans nonetheless hoped the
lion thief would return the beloved red,
17-inch-tall statue.

“If you spot him or have a lead, please
reply! I miss him dearly and I'm wor-
ried for his safety,” the Lonely Lion
pleads in the ad.

The 33-year-old said she decided to
make the post humorous because she
“knew the odds of getting it back were
really slim anyway.”

Adrienne grew up with the lion stat-
ues. Although the lions were European
in origin, the Chans bought them be-
cause of their relevance to Chinese
culture and even painted them red to
represent good luck.

Josephine Chiu-Duke, an associate
professor in Asian studies at UBC, said
that in the Chinese culture lions bring
families good fortune and are a symbol
of protection against evil spirits.

Even though the chances of getting
the statue back are slim, the Chans are
optimistic.

“My mom just wants it back, we'll
forgive you if you just give it back,”
Adrienne said.

[= of cheering in the Lunar

E
Adrienne Chan stands next to Lonely
Lion. RCA TALAY PHOTO