Gastown Crawl: The Forge, Kozak Ukrainian Eatery, Oak + Fort, & Is That French?

Earlier this year, I was invited to a Gastown Crawl, hosted by the Gastown Business Improvement Association (BIA), for a summer evening to explore Gastown, Vancouver’s most historic neighbourhood. With over 55 new businesses newly opened in Gastown over the past year, the community is alive again with new spirit and excitement. I frequent Gastown all the freaking time: you can usually find me inhaling sushi at a concerning speed at Momo Sushi, searching for my next statement piece at The Latest Scoop, and fawning over home goods at Old Faithful Shop.

We started the evening at The Forge, a hidden cocktail and whiskey bar at Smith’s Irish Pub, stopped by Kozak Ukrainian Eatery for a treat, trotted over to Blood Alley for a tour of the area’s newest development, attended a special retail preview of Oak + Fort’s newest flagship location, and ended the night with drinks and appies at Is That French, a natural wine and raw bar.