Against the walls, books are piled high beneath eclectic posters and signs. Christmas lights and a lively fish tank across the bar lend pops of colour to the dark room. Guests swap stories over board games, darts, and pool, and linger well into the night – and that is all fine with the longtime owner-bartender of The Brickhouse in Chinatown.
Leo Chow has an unhurried, relaxed quality about him that comes from many years working in the bar industry, as well as from owning and creating a place that people feel they can come home to. While Leo was born and raised in East Vancouver and graduated from UBC Business, his passion for travel is what inspired the décor and space. During a stay in England, he observed that tight living quarters (400sq ft flats were not uncommon) created a higher desire for public spaces where people wanted to go to hang out with their friends and relax – and he took that home with him when opening the Brickhouse in 1992.
Twenty-two years later, the dedicated barman accepts the impending fate of his bar relocation as a symptom of Chinatown’s evolution, and is already planning the next chapter without missing a beat. In the meantime, pull up a chair, sit down at the wood one more time, and raise a glass to this long-serving, well-loved watering hole.
Brickhouse
730 Main Street, Vancouver
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Photo credit: Annie Jackson (Flickr)