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If you were to create a Venn diagram where one circle was labeled "cheap" and the other labeled "awesome", the middle point where they cross over could be labeled "Vancouver on the Cheap". In other words, this is a weekly series on things to do and places to go in Vancouver that fall into that magical category of being both cheap and awesome. |
The research process for finding a cheap place to grab a drink can be a little daunting. A few gimmes aside, not every pub or restaurant posts their specials online, yelp reviews can be out of date or just plain wrong, and your friend saying "I think I heard they do $3 highballs" isn't entirely reliable. What's a Vancouverite (who doesn't want to pay $9 for a beer) to do?
Easy, check out Vancity Drink Specials. A new(isn) website created by a couple of local guys who were tired of facing just that problem. Start with the day of the week and then find an awesome list that you can sort by restaurant name, neighbourhood, drink type, size, or cost. It's ridiculously easy! Looking for the cheapest drink, no questions asked? Sort by price. Looking for a special on jugs of beer? Sort by size. Want to wander to the nearest high street? Sort by neighbourhood.
They've also got a nifty little blog with everything from tips for the best party mix to get you home to reviews to a series called "Pender Bender" where I can only assume they made a goal of visiting as many pubs on Pender as they could find.
Co-Founders Wes the Waiter and Ben the Bartender, doing some field research.
I got to chat with one of the website founders, dubbed Wes the Waiter, about the site.
Why did you create Vancity Drink Specials?
We came up with the idea for the website after our first few years of exposure to the Vancouver bar scene. As fresh-faced 20 year-olds from the burbs, we soon discovered how expensive in can be to go out drinking in the city. After a while though, we realized that there were tons of cool spots all over town with amazing drink specials, and, if you knew where to go, it was easy to live it up without breaking the bank. I always wished there was some website that had all of the drink specials from all over Vancouver for any given night all in one place, but no one could seem to do it. So we decided to try it ourselves, and after months of pub-crawls, hours of blogs, and a few hangovers, we'd mapped out pretty much all of the specials in the entire city. Now, our website is fast becoming the place to go for drink specials info in Vancouver. Needless to say, we're pretty happy with how things have been going.
What are your day jobs when you're not hunting down and sharing awesome drink specials?
I actually just finished my first year at UBC Law, but I'm also a server at The Boathouse (hence Wes the Waiter). Ben the Bartender plies his trade at Cactus Club and moonlights as the lead vocalists for local group The Dedbeats.
How do you keep on top of the deals in Vancouver?
So far, we've been staying up on the specials through word of mouth, social media, and just through good old-fashioned "field research". We are currently in the process of a massive specials-updating spree, but with over 120 locations on the site, we are ultimately planning to partner with the various establishments across the city so that bars would have the ability to update their own specials whenever they change. That is one of the big things we're planning to roll-out this summer.
Where are your favourite places to go for a cheap drink?
We've been all over, and we've got a favorite or two in most of the neighborhoods around town. For our money, the best spots are the ones that combine good deals with a cool ambiance, and a possible top three might be the following:
Backstage Lounge (Granville Island): Ben the Bartender's pick, Backstage Lounge is home of the $2.25 half-pint of Bowen Island Ale on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although they were even cheaper in years past, this is still a great deal, and their patio is one of the best in the city.
Ouisi Bistro (South Granville) - A little off the beaten path, Ouisi Bistro has probably the most interesting deals in town. My favorite is the One Bourbon (Makers Mark), One Scotch (Aberlour), One Beer (Russell Brewing) weekend special, but their 2oz Bourbon Side Car for $5.75 on Wednesdays is just outstanding.
The Kings Head (Kitsilano) - The originator, this spot still delivers the most consistently dirt-cheap drink specials we have seen anywhere. With $3 drinks most days, $10 Pitchers a lot of days, and the odd (highly elusive) sub-$5 Double Caesar special, The Kings Head wears the drink-specials Crown.
I love these guys' attitude, because (as I've been saying for ages), Vancouver doesn't have to be a crazy expensive city, you just need to know where to look for deals. That's what I'm trying to do with this series, and that's what they're trying to do with Vancity Drink Specials. So before your next night out, check out Vancity Drink Specials and get (as they say) "More Booze for Your Buck"!
