by Malcolm Jolley
Mark Brand has had a meteoric rise in the Vancouver restaurant scene since he began an industry night cocktail challenge at Chambar in 2006. From there he and his partners opened Boneta, then The Diamond and Sea Monstr Sushi in Vancouver’s down and out East End. Brand, who grew up in Halifax and cut his first restaurant chops in Melbourne, fell in love with Gastown and decided to take on the challenge of a lifetime when he took over and refurbished Save On Meats, a butcher shop and deli that had seen much better days. Gastown Gamble is serialised television documentary about Brand, his wife Nico and their troop of friends and associates, who struggle to make the new Save On Meats work in its first few months. It airs on Wednesday nights on Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, and I interviewed him for the video below at their Toronto HQ at Corus Quay. We were there for a packed launch party and screening, followed by Q&A with Brand, which I moderated.
Can’t see the video? Click here.
GFR videos are generously sponsored by a grant from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the non-profit organization that publishes GFR. twitter.com/malcolmjolley. Photo: John Gundy.
I just have to say what Mark and his wife are doing for the downtown east side community is wonderful. If I lived closer I would definitely want to be involved in it to help the people who truly need it.
Erin Lang
yes it is great the option is there, but i think it’s mostly there to cater to the people who live in the woodwards building and other condos. I used to shop at the old save on meats and it was alot more affordable. I do no shop there anymore.
Well, that’s too bad because you’re really missing out. Save On has become an even larger staple to the Downtown Eastside (DTES) since Brand re-opened its doors. He doesn’t deny that this adventure is an enterprise, however he is leveraging this enterprise to build social capital of those who live in the DTES that have traditionally fallen through the cracks.
It has become a larger staple for thos that can afford it – It is no longer a company trying to earn a marginal amount of money and selling cheap cuts for an incredibly good deal. I never knew what was in thier hambergers, but I did know I could never finish one. 🙂