Vancouver – Commercial Drive – Part 2

This extract is from ‘Travel Tales from Exotic Places like Salford’

If you fancy an ice-cream on Commercial Drive the selection, from the hundreds on offer, will include chili, Gorgonzola, or lavender. If you want a coffee, the options on Commercial Drive aren’t small, medium, or large; they’re Ethiopian, Vietnamese, or Cuban. There are numerous fruit and vegetable stores along ‘The Drive’ too, ideal if you want to buy supplies for a picnic.

During the 1870s and ’80s, Commercial Drive was a skid road that supplied logs to the Hastings Sawmill on Burrard Inlet. After WWI there was a big influx of Italian, Chinese,
and Eastern European immigrants. After WWII a further wave of Italian immigrants established the basis for today’s Commercial Drive, which was called “Little Italy” for
decades. Commercial Drive is easy to reach on the Skytrain. Get off at either Broadway or Commercial Drive stations and head towards the North Shore mountains. You may at first
wonder if this rundown-looking area is the right place, but don’t turn back. After a block or two you’ll begin to see the choices available.