M1925 – 246 E. Georgia St. Chinatown, Vancouver, BC
Irish Heather & Shebeen and 1 bedroom apartment
Scott Mitchell @Metric Architecture
The restauranteur Sean Heather decided to invest in a building and chose a location in Chinatown to create a new venture. The plan was to have an underground bar like his Salt Cellar but that specialized in Brisket sandwiches. The basement had no connection to the street so we proposed to have a lane entry but we had no luck with COV. The 1930 building most recently a retail store for Chinese Medicine, was in rough shape. So we planned a main level restaurant to be leased with an additional separate entrance from Georgia that would access just the basement restaurant / bar. An excavation was required and a new concrete stair to obtain a space that would have 60 seats.
When Covid-19 shut down bars and restaurants, our design underwent another redesign. Our attention instead now focussed on the main level food primary which was to become the new Irish Heather. After 24 years in Gastown, Sean Heather deemed it time for a move. Taxes and rents were crippling but Covid-19 was showing that a new seating concept was needed. The design now incorporated the Shebeen whisky bar, open kitchen, the long communal table, 4 Irish snugs, and various 2 tops. The main level has 121 seats and a door on hold open allows for expansion downstairs of another 58 seats.
A very rundown 2 bedroom apartment upstairs was gutted and became a trendy 1 bedroom rental unit complete with a roof deck. (246 E. Georgia St.)
VBBL 2014
Change of Major Occupancy Upgrades: ( F4, S4, N4, A4, E3 )
Client: Sean Heather and 129 Gainful Venture Ltd. (℅ Living Balance Investment Group)
Architectural: Metric Architecture
Structural: London Mah & Assoc.
Mechanical: Zoom Engineering
Electrical: Zoom Engineering
Completed June 2021
https://scoutmagazine.ca/2021/04/13/inside-chinatowns-new-irish-heather-shebeen/
https://scoutmagazine.ca/2021/05/28/new-irish-heather-shebeen-taking-shape-on-east-georgia-street/