It’s hard to avoid Mark Brand in Gastown, his finger prints are everywhere, be it in the restaraunts The Diamond, Boneta, Sea Monstr Sushi and the diner of the previously mentioned Save On Meats; the Catalog Gallery or the shop, Sharks and Hammers.

If anyone has been the catalyst for the re-birth of Gastown as a cultural and stylistic hub, it’s been this guy. Already a legendary bartender in his own right, his work in and around the Downtown Eastside is the stuff of legend, not only for its promotion of a new era of food and drink in the city. The launch of the Diamond and Boneta really pushed the appearances of establishments like the Pourhouse to the front, but the new projects of Sean Heather of the Irish Heather fame as well. Let alone the fact that it was these places that made it cool to actually be a bartender again.

Then there’s the return of Save-On Meats, the local butcher and diner that was an institution for decades until its closure in 2009. By re-launching it, Brand has courted some controversy about the gentrification of the area. However, his heart and business sense are visibly in the right place, making it accessible and welcoming to one of the poorest neighbourhoods in North America and keeping the quality intact. It’s a gamble, but it’s working.

Gastown continues to explode with a growth not seen for ages. It’s places like the Catalog Gallery that are making in a spot for the locals as opposed to yet another tourist lurking point.

Simple and direct, the curation is lead by multidisciplinary dude of many years, Vaughn Robert Squire and he’s taken a subtle hand towards directing folks to a new home for Vancouver’s artistic grey areas.

Opening with notorious street artist gone traditionalist, the Dark, they’ve shifted to the Vancouver perspective on beautiful ladies to the massive pool of local talent that makes of the December majesty of the group show, Presence. Ina day and age where too many Vancouver galleries have this need to slam either their indie cred or their cost in your face, it’s a refreshing change.

You also can’t front on a gallery that has set up their own pirate radio transmitter and has been known to throw a little gathering and broadcast some of the city’s finest live act from time to time. It’s a new bastion of art and culture, just a hop and a jump from Gassy Jack.

Sushi in Vancouver is as common as Starbucks outlets. Just walk down Robson or Granville and you’ll note the amount of pre-packaged joints doing a brisk business. So, when rumors of a kraken appearing in Gastown popped up, it was hard not to be intrigued.

Sea Monstr Sushi just opened and already people are raving. When you look at the number of sushi places in Vancouver it’s kind of hard not to. The industry cred level in the place is already through the roof thanks to it being co-owned by Mark Brand, of the Diamond and Boneta, and the sushi being headed by Keith Allison, the chef who in many ways helped make Dan on West Broadway the secret spot for many a West-sider.

Visually, the place looks astounding. It’s a hole in the wall in the finest Gastown tradition. It’s serves maybe 16 folks, but if you’ve ever been to a real Japanese sushi place in Japan, it fits the bill of tradition. All the other pretty can likely be chalked up to Alex “Rhek” Uso, Brand’s other half in the Sharks and Hammers store that has melded with the Sea Monstr to become one giant den of awesome.

Simple, easy and to the point, Sea Monstr’s got style for days and taste for miles, another reason that you should duck the tourists and the junkies and get back into Gastown.

Vancouver has this tendency to spawn awesome in the most unlikely places.  So when I came across Sharks and Hammers on a stroll to my radio show one night, I knew there was another bloom in Gastown’s concrete garden that we could all love.

Vancouver has a long and storied history of street/skate wear brands. Skull Skates and Westbeach all made their name here in Vancouver. Hell, even Lululemon has a tinge of street cred having been founded by a former Westbeach founder.

So it makes sense that the lads who run Sharks and Hammers would pop up. notorious hip-hop lovers (you may remember co-founder Rhek working the counter at legendary Vancouver record shop, Beat Street and champions of East Vancouver, they’ve got balls, brashness and a happy appreciation for their hood.

Lots of designers will have a go at putting together shirts that pay tribute to rappers, political figures and weed. Sharks and Hammers though have pulled out to classic tributes to departed or soon to go Vancouver landmarks in the form of the Save On Meats sign and Main Steet’s legendary Juicy Chicken.

As rent goes up and the gentrification of the Downtown East Side continues, Vancouver will soon be left with its memories. As much as Gene Simmons sponsored ski-wear and and condo towers may appeal, may become the norm in Gastown, but someone has to throw up their fist for what was.

Consistency. It’s something that Vancouver designers battle with on a daily basis. Some switch shops more times than they have hot meals, some switch styles faster than superman changes clothes. So it’s nice to know that somewhere up Main Street, the ladies behind Smoking Lilly are holding down the fort.

If I was a girl, I’d spend all my money at Smoking Lilly. Organic fabrics and delicate modern asymmetrical cuts make their dresses to die for. I’m also a total mark for the look of their wool vests and remember, I’m a guy.

Buzz from the Melvins is not a girl, but as you can see, he knows that Vancouver holds it down.

I’m prone to dropping stupid amounts of money on their men’s t-shirts, not only for the quality of the shirt but the mystery of their print designs. I’ve got swans and mystic marking. They do skulls, bunnies, guns, a little of everything and the designs are so distinct that you can guarantee you’ll get stopped in the street at least a half dozen times over them.

Unlike so many of their local brethren who lock themselves into strictly tops, dresses or skirts, Smoking Lilly make a mean scarf, a meaner obi and some astonishing pillow cases. Alongside stores like Eugene Choo and Spank, Smoking Lilly strikes a revolutionary pose, one fist in the air for style and awesome and you don’t have to try and get on Canada’s Next top Runway Project to be into it.

It’s a beautiful sight to see, and all of it avoiding the downtown entanglements of the Cordova fashion corridor. While so many folks feel the need to lock themselves into Gastown’s fashion ghetto, the Lillies remain rooted quietly in their main street home, blowing minds one Hira Hira dress at a time.

So it comes as no surprise then the the area has begun to regenerate itself, not under the watchful of politician and money makers, but at the hands of b-boys, artists, rogue chefs and independent business people.

Garret Louie is one of these people. A legend in the city as one half of hip-hop promoters G-Man and Rizk, he’s put his money where his mouth is, opening the Fortune Sound club in the heart of Chinatown. With a custom designed room, a Funktion One sound system and resident DJs that bring it hot, it’s enough to spark a night life explosion, or at least a b-boy circle.

A flurry of the city’s hottest young bartenders and chefs have lights out for new territory, seizing the neighborhood as their own. The newly opened Diamond at Maple Square, Pourhouse and Deacon’s Corner are leading the culinary charge into darkened corners normally avoided by the city’s foodies… Tannis Ling‘s Bao Bei, Sean Heather’s the Judas Goat Taberna and the soon to launch culinary projects at Woodwards and the Keefer Hotel look to make the area even hotter.