Posts tagged with “save-on meats”

Wow! Vancity went all out in producing this video about our friends at Save On Meats in conjunction with the release of the credit union’s ANNUAL REPORT. It gave me chills. YOU MUST WATCH IT!

Wow! Our friends Erin Ireland and Save-On Meats have teamed up to do something super awesome:

They’ve put bacon into banana bread! For you to eat!

They’re also making this amazing combination available as an old-school candygram (bacon-bananagram?) that you can send to somebody you love on Valentines Day, with one dollar from every loaf sold going towards A Loving Spoonful.

HERE is a link to more info on ordering etc.

Stay tuned for more Random Acts!

Inside the diner

Text by Liam Ford and Jennifer Kim

Helen Hill is ready for stardom. The official greeter at Save-On-Meats, Hill is a familiar face on East Hastings. She’s been working in the area for the past six years, her presence in the community vouched for in the Hope in Shadows calendar of 2007. Now she’s a star of Vancouver-shot reality TV series Gastown Gamble– and she says she’s already feeling the attention. When asked if she’s ready for fame,

They do it already! “Oh hi Helen! Oh, that’s Helen. I know Helen.” All day long, I get it. People yell at me, “Helen, I love you!”

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Our friends over at OpenFile Vancouver have just published a fantastic interactive map with descriptions and photos of 45 of the city’s surviving signs along with a few classics that have recently been removed. They also asked folks with a keen interest in Vancouver’s history, including Museum of Vancouver curator Joan Seidl, local historian John Atkin, myself and others about their absolute favourite pieces of neon in the city. They’ve really put together a great read and a fantastic resource. Have a look HERE.

Also, if you’re really a fan of local neon, follow OpenFile’s ongoing series with John Atkin HERE.

Photo courtesy of Christian Dahlberg.

When asked why he thinks that Vancouverites are suddenly so nostalgic about neon signs, vancouverneon.com curator Christian Dahlberg replies “It’s simple. Neon reminds us of a time when the local shopkeeper knew your name, when the same mom and pop business had been in your neighbourhood for 30 years and watched your kids grow up. It reminds us of the good old days before the big box retail moved in.”

No iconic Vancouver sign more accurately fits into this theory than Save On Meats, located at 43 West Hastings. Like most people who grew up  up in the lower mainland, for me trips downtown were always punctuated with the sight of the flying pigs. “Al makes a helluva burger,” my grandfather would say as we passed the riot of shiny pink tubing on our way to Woodward’s or the Bay.

Al Des Lauriers opened up the butcher shop/lunch counter in 1957 at a time when Vancouver was one of the world’s great neon cities, with over 19,000 of the signs blanketing the city (1 for every 200 people!) Local historian John Atkin theorizes that the signs were especially popular here because they looked so great in the rain, as their reflection bounced off of water slicked streets and lent a rainbow of colour to the otherwise grey skies. Save On Meats certainly added to that rainbow.

A riot of movement and colour.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver’s got so many characters that I had to give them some credit. These little Mascots are so funny and have a way to make us remember things that we would normally forget. Sometimes restaurants go out of business and you never even go a chance to eat there, but I’m sure deep down inside you miss the giant sign with chicken giving you thumbs up. I know I do!

If you see any more around the city email them to me at dan@deadstock.ca

Windsor Plywood

Mr.Matress

The Infamous Save On Meats

Mr. Jumbo

ICBC (this location is now turning into a Ferarri dealership, they painted the whole building last week and were cool enough to not paint over this.)

The Block Watch Houses

Hand Car Wash

Purple Planet Pizza ( WHAT A NAME!!!!)

Hastings Swing Girl……too bad she’s gone now. (Thanks to Heather Maxwell)