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Global News
3 days ago
- Global News
Downtown Eastside restaurateur says he could make more dealing drugs on the street
The owner of a Downtown Eastside restaurant on a block with one of the highest crime rates in Vancouver says the irony of all the drug use, dealing and street disorder happening outside his doors is something he tries not to think about as he struggles to run a legal business. At the same time, stakeholders are urging the provincial and federal governments to step up and play a bigger role in tackling the root cause of the area's illegal activity, which continues to thrive. Before the Vancouver Police Department's (VPD) Task Force Barrage brought an increased police presence and foot patrols to Carrall Street near Hastings earlier this year, Calabash Bistro said co-existing with drug dealers has helped them survive for the past 15 years. 'The reality is, is that we've had to create a mutual respect between our business and all the business that happens out there,' Cullin David told Global News in an interview. Story continues below advertisement 3:11 Downtown Eastside business struggles to stay open amid rampant public disorder 'Sometimes they're the only person on the block who can deal with an addict who's literally just done their drugs but is now passed out in front of my restaurant.' The one block radius of Carrall Street and Hastings was known as a hot spot for loitering, street vending, drug trafficking and disorder, according to Insp. Gary Hiar, the commanding officer of Task Force Barrage. Area crime, Hiar said, has decreased since the dedicated police task force began targeting violent offenders and organized criminals on Feb. 13. Statistics provided by the VPD show violent incidents on the block are down 30 per cent from 137 in the period between Feb. 13 and June 15 in 2024 to 96 over the same four months this year. Common assaults have decreased by 40 per cent from 62 in 2024 to 37 this year, serious assaults are down 21 per cent from 34 to 27, robberies have been reduced 62 per cent from 13 to five this year and commercial break and enters are down 75 per cent from eight in 2024 to two in the same four months this year. Story continues below advertisement 'Looking at numbers is one thing, but if the perception is still that it's not safe, then we need to do more,' said Hiar, the commanding officer of Task Force Barrage. While he appreciates the extra police presence, David said it has also introduced new crews to the block, who are trying to take over as existing criminal networks are disrupted. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We're always prepared, that you know, that squeeze on the core of the Downtown Eastside could lead to some disruption or some displacement, I should say,' Hiar responded. 1:54 New security cameras for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside In terms of shifting crime elsewhere, Hiar believes police are keeping a handle on it with additional resources on the outskirts of the area. Early Sunday morning, David said his cooks had a close call when dealers from the 'night shift,' who he said are often armed, drunk or high and much more dangerous than their counterparts on the day shift, attempted to stash something in Calabash's commissary after spotting police on patrol. Story continues below advertisement The tense confrontation that ensued between his staff and approximately 10 aggressive individuals was only defused, said David, when a dealer they know intervened. 'First and foremost, if those types of tensions exist, we need to be called, we need to know because we have the patrols in and around the area, and we're going to respond,' Hiar told Global News on Tuesday. Terry Yung, B.C.'s Minister of State for Community Safety and a former VPD officer who walked the beat in the Downtown Eastside for more than four years, said targeted enforcement of the area's criminal activity will continue, as well as addressing street conditions in the Carrall Street laneway between Hastings and Pender Streets. 'I understand the challenges and sometimes the fear of coming down here,' Yung told Global News in an interview. 'That's the reason I go to work in the morning and do this, because I do believe we can make a difference. Maybe not overnight to solve all the issues that we face, but we can make incremental progress.' The Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association said it is supporting David and other businesses as much as it can with safety and security. 'No business owner should have to risk their life to keep their business open,' executive director Landon Hoyt said in an interview. 'What (David is) facing and what his staff are facing is extreme and something we've never seen before.' Story continues below advertisement 0:39 Task Force Barrage sees dip in DTES crime, Vancouver police say Hoyt said the province promised investment and change in the years preceding the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, noting Carrall Street was celebrated as one of the city of Vancouver's first separated bike paths, but said the community has since been neglected. 'This neighbourhood has not gotten what it deserves,' Hoyt told Global News. 'It's just resulted in abandonment, really, and a crumbling neighbourhood.' Hoyt said his local BIA can only do so much but has advocated relentlessly for the government to address the service gaps in the Downtown Eastside, including through a new Vancouver Agreement. 'Something that actually lays out and defines clear levels of responsibility for all different levels of government. That's something that would lead to change in this community,' said Hoyt. Signed in March 2000, the initial Vancouver Agreement was a five-year collaboration involving the federal, provincial and municipal governments. It focused on three main areas: community health and safety, economic and social development, and community capacity building. Story continues below advertisement According to a B.C. government press release, Vancouver Agreement partners announced more than $2.8 million on Jan. 21, 2003, for new programs aimed at revitalizing the Downtown Eastside economically and socially. 3:18 Retiring VPD chief reflects on policing the Downtown Eastside In April 2005, all three levels of government announced that the Vancouver Agreement would be renewed for a second five-year term lasting until March 2010. 'The Agreement's first focus is the revitalization of the city's Downtown Eastside, particularly encouraging local business attraction and retention, secure and safe housing, and support for residents with addiction and mental health issues,' stated an April 4, 2005, news release on its renewal. The Vancouver Agreement was not renewed after it expired in 2010, and the city of Vancouver confirmed there is currently no similar framework in place. Green Party Coun. Pete Fry said we are not meeting the root causes of problems in the area, and agreed the Vancouver Agreement approach needs to be revisited so all levels of government are brought in to look for proactive solutions. Story continues below advertisement 'How do we knit together federal policy, provincial policy, civic bylaws, policing, all those pieces?' Fry told Global News in an interview. 'We need to get everybody at the same table and figure out what are some of the tangible solutions because what's happening right now isn't working.' 'It makes me wonder what the heck I'm doing down here,' said David. The bistro owner told Global News it would probably be safer selling drugs on Carrall Street than trying to run a restaurant, adding he and his staff have turned down offers of $500 a day to work the block. 'To know that's the amount of money that can be made for standing on a corner while my business is failing, is so incredibly heartbreaking,' said David.
Global News
4 days ago
- Global News
Caribbean bistro weighs leaving ‘war zone' in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
After 15 years of navigating what he describes as a 'war zone' of illegal activity outside his doors, the owner of a popular Caribbean restaurant has almost given up on trying to run a legitimate business in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Running the gauntlet outside his restaurant to grab supplies from his commissary kitchen at the corner of Carrall and Hastings streets is an almost daily battle for Cullin David, who said he genuinely fears for his safety and that of his customers, staff, and business partners. 'My head's on a swivel,' David told Global News in an interview. 'I'm always looking over my shoulder.' 1:54 New security cameras for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside The co-owner and chef at Calabash Bistro said he's tired of dodging drug use, dealing, street disorder and violence on a block with one of the worst crime rates in the city. 'Killings, stabbings, knife fights. My business partners having to do their best to try and save a gentleman's life that they witnessed being stabbed in the chest,' said David. 'The amount of violence and just horrible things that we've witnessed is a lot for anyone just trying to run a restaurant.' When David opened Calabash Bistro in 2010, he knew he was on ground zero in the troubled neighbourhood, but said he was enticed by municipal and provincial promises of investment and improvement in the area, including greenways and tourist routes. Advertisement 'Those early days, we had a lot of optimism,' David recalled. The lease at 428 Carrall Street came with a cabaret licence allowing the restaurant to operate as a dance hall until 2:00 a.m., and David and his partners were eager to celebrate the Caribbean spirit and culture through food, live music and dancing. Over the years, he said Calabash became known for open mic nights and as a space to showcase independent artists and young people starting out. 0:39 Task Force Barrage sees dip in DTES crime, Vancouver police say 'We used to have lineups for dinner,' said David. 'We used to have lineups for dancing after.' But he said the neighbourhood never improved. 'It's kind of just steadily gotten worse and worse,' David said. Calabash was one of the first restaurants to launch a composting program, but David said its bin was taken away due to all the needles being thrown into it. More and more nearby businesses have shuttered, he said, and more and more human excrement is appearing on the sidewalk. While he's grateful there has been some recent movement on crime and crime prevention with the VPD's Task Force Barrage targeting organized criminals and violent offenders since Feb. 13, David says Carrall Street near Hastings continues to deteriorate. 'The risk to myself, my partner, and our employees has increased significantly, especially at night,' said David, who noted his staff were involved in a very close call this past weekend. At 1:40 a.m. Sunday, David said his cooks were moving items to the commissary space at the corner of Carrall and Hastings. When drug dealers on the block spotted police on patrol nearby, David said they attempted to stash 'something' inside Calabash's commissary. When his cooks stopped them and told them they needed to leave, David said the dealers became aggressive and began fighting his staff. Calabash's co-owner, Yonathan Hernandez, arrived, said David, and managed to corral the cooks in the commissary while he was left to face approximately 10 hostile individuals alone on the street. Yelling, pushing, and shoving ensued, according to David, and Hernandez saw one dealer place his hand on a gun in his waistband before another dealer from the 'day shift' saw what was happening and stepped in to defuse the situation. 0:48 Police officer set on fire in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside The incident, David said, began due to a police presence, but when things escalated, no one intervened. As a society, he said, we've all allowed the chaos outside his doors to thrive. 'The business of poverty is big,' David told Global News. 'There (are) a lot of people that make money from what's going on down here.' David said he would like to see a government approach that brings positive change for people struggling with mental illness and addictions. 'There needs to be some sort of holistic end game,' he said in an interview. 'Something that is actually helping people.' While David said the people outside his business are allowed to smoke drugs, drink alcohol, and listen to loud music at all hours, Calabash is fighting to survive. Over the years, adjustments were made to the wording of licences and David said the bistro's shifted from 'cabaret' to 'food primary with patron participation entertainment,' permitting live music and dancing until midnight. Still, he said, Calabash continued to operate as it always did with live music and dancing up to 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. until recently. Advertisement Late last year, David said the province started enforcing the rules to ensure DJs and dancing stop at midnight. 'We were kind of shocked to have inspectors come in and say, 'Well, nope, you can't do this and you can't do that and if we have to come back, you're going to be fined upwards of seven grand,'' David told Global News. 2:01 Long time DTES resident supports mayor's plan to clean up the area Before the provincial inspection, David said Calabash never had any issues or received any complaints. 'If we stop dancing and music at midnight, we'd be closed,' he said. 'That last two hours of business is one of the things that kind of put us over the top.' David and his partners recently took out a $15,000 loan and applied for a dual food and liquor primary licence, which would allow the restaurant to operate as a bar or nightclub, provided they have different hours of liquor-only service. But there's no guarantee Calabash will be approved. '$15,000 later, not only are we faced with the prospect of being denied the licence, we probably won't have any customers willing to walk through a war zone just to visit us,' said David. 'We're damned if we do, were damned if we don't.' In a statement, B.C.'s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said inspectors from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) have issued three warnings to Calabash Bistro over the past six months, involving alleged contraventions 'of operating contrary to licence purpose and permitting entertainment past approved hours.' No fine has been issued, and the LCRB confirms it has received applications for two changes to Calabash's licence and is working with the restaurant owner to process the application as expeditiously as possible. When asked if the province could give Calabash a break from any potential enforcement while the dual licence process occurs, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General did not directly answer. 'In the meantime, the licensee must follow the rules of his licence, as outlined in the compliance meetings that have been held with the owner,' the statement read. Catering is the only thing keeping Calabash alive, said David, who had hoped to stay in the Downtown Eastside as a hub for the Black, Latin, and Caribbean communities. 'At the same time now, I'm weighing on if I can, if we can stay open, or save ourselves.' For the last two weeks, David said he's been trying to find some sort of positive light at the end of the tunnel, hoping he won't have to become a statistic before change occurs. 'That little light is dwindling, it's almost out,' he said. 'My mental health can't really take much more of having to come down and battle through everything just to open the door.'
Vancouver Sun
23-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
‘Playing Whac-a-Mole': Vancouver police say crime is down in the DTES due to boosted presence. Some aren't so sure
Vancouver's Cullin David was posing for a photograph inside his Downtown Eastside restaurant on Thursday afternoon, discussing crime in the neighbourhood, when he noticed a man outside tagging his front window. 'Look at that,' said David, head chef and co-owner of Calabash, a Caribbean restaurant. 'Excuse me.' With that, he stepped out onto Carrall Street and followed the tagger into an alley, where he asked him to hand over his Sharpie marker, which he snapped in two. David would never want his staff to confront people like that. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I don't want them getting into harm's way. I don't want to do that either. But at the same time, if you don't put your foot down, you continually get run over.' Crime and public safety have been problems in the neighbourhood long before Calabash opened in 2010. But this block has been significantly more 'volatile' in recent years, David said. David welcomed a Postmedia News reporter and photographer into his restaurant to talk about crime in the Downtown Eastside, hours after the Vancouver Police Department released figures it says shows the success of boosted efforts starting three months ago to curb crime in and around the neighbourhood. The department says it sent additional officers to Gastown, Chinatown, and Hastings Street, supported by $5 million from city hall. It has officers working overtime to patrol the neighbourhood, helping to deter crime and respond more quickly to incidents. The funding is expected to last six months. From David's perspective, as a longtime owner of a business just steps away from East Hastings Street, crime and disorder doesn't seem to have dropped much since police started their Task Force Barrage started on Feb. 13. He does not blame the police. 'Through no fault of their own, the police are playing Whac-a-Mole,' David said. 'We need the province to come into play, we need mental health facilities, we need more of a holistic focus to improve anything down here.' While crime doesn't seem very different in recent months, business at Calabash has been worse since police launched Task Force Barrage, David said. He believes the public perception of the area as a 'war zone' is keeping people away, and if not for some recent catering gigs to keep them afloat, Calabash may have already been forced to close. Some area business owners expressed more optimism. Alex Chang, who owns Baldy's Vintage clothing boutique on East Pender across from the Sun Yat-sen Garden, is in a group chat with other Chinatown business owners, including both newer merchants like him and longtime operators. Much of their talk relates to crime in the neighbourhood, which he says has slowed from several reports daily last fall to one message a day earlier this year. Lately, the group chat is only pinging every few days. At a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Steve Addison said: 'We've had more police officers out on the street in the Downtown Eastside and surrounding areas over the past three months than we have in years. And crime has plummeted.' Since the task force's launch, police say violence and most property crimes in those neighbourhoods have declined compared to 2024, with violent crime dropping 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona. The department says officers have seized 745 weapons — including 79 guns — made 414 warrant arrests, and filed 258 reports to prosecutors. Addison did not have figures on the number of convictions or recommendations to Crown counsel resulting from the arrests made by the task force. 'The process for (suspects) working their way through the court to a conviction could take months, 18 months, or longer.' He said the figures show that serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters, with the exception of Gastown, which has had no change when compared to 2024. The biggest declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown. Despite progress, Addison described the situation as a continuing struggle due to factors including mental health and drug use, as well as challenges when violent offenders are released from institutions and sent to halfway houses in the neighbourhood. 'It feels like we're trying to hold back a leaky dam,' said Addison. Addison emphasized the need to maintain the momentum of the task force beyond its initial surge. 'We don't want this task force to come to an end after six months and have all the gains we've made, all the progress, go to for naught,' he said. 'There will need to be broader discussions about how to sustain this effort — not just relying on the police department, but involving the community as a whole,' he added, citing senior levels of government, service providers, and community organizations as key partners. 'By having our officers close, we've been able to more easily intervene and arrest people, or stop them when they've committed thefts,' Addison said. Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a 'long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.' Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said: 'Overall, we are pleased with the results of Task Force Barrage, having seen a noticeable decline in major crime in our area.' 'However, we are also conscious of the chronic systems-level challenges that still persist, which policing will not resolve,' Hoyt said. 'We will continue pushing for those services that this community desperately needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
Vancouver Sun
22-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
‘Feels like Whac-a-Mole': Vancouver police say crime is down in the DTES due to boosted presence. Some aren't so sure
Vancouver's Cullin David was posing for a photograph inside his Downtown Eastside restaurant on Thursday afternoon, discussing crime in the neighbourhood, when he noticed a man outside tagging his front window. 'Look at that,' said David, head chef and co-owner of Calabash, a Caribbean restaurant. 'Excuse me.' With that, he stepped out onto Carrall Street and followed the tagger into an alley, where he asked him to hand over his Sharpie marker, which he snapped in two. David would never want his staff to confront people like that. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I don't want them getting into harm's way. I don't want to do that either. But at the same time, if you don't put your foot down, you continually get run over.' Crime and public safety have been problems in the neighbourhood long before Calabash opened in 2010. But this block has been significantly more 'volatile' in recent years, David said. David welcomed a Postmedia News reporter and photographer into his restaurant to talk about crime in the Downtown Eastside, hours after the Vancouver Police Department released figures it says shows the success of boosted efforts starting three months ago to curb crime in and around the neighbourhood. The department says it sent additional officers to Gastown, Chinatown, and Hastings Street, supported by $5 million from city hall. It has officers working overtime to patrol the neighbourhood, helping to deter crime and respond more quickly to incidents. The funding is expected to last six months. From David's perspective, as a longtime owner of a business just steps away from East Hastings Street, crime and disorder doesn't seem to have dropped much since police started their Task Force Barrage started on Feb. 13. He does not blame the police. 'Through no fault of their own, the police are playing Whac-a-mole,' David said. 'We need the province to come into play, we need mental health facilities, we need more of a holistic focus to improve anything down here.' While crime doesn't seem very different in recent months, business at Calabash has been worse since police launched Task Force Barrage, David said. He believes the public perception of the area as a 'war zone' is keeping people away, and if not for some recent catering gigs to keep them afloat, Calabash may have already been forced to close. Some area business owners expressed more optimism. Alex Chang, who owns Baldy's Vintage clothing boutique on East Pender across from the Sun Yat-sen Garden, is in a group chat with other Chinatown business owners, including both newer merchants like him and longtime operators. Much of their talk relates to crime in the neighbourhood, which he says has slowed from several reports daily last fall to one message a day earlier this year. Lately, the group chat is only pinging every few days. At a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Steve Addison said: 'We've had more police officers out on the street in the Downtown Eastside and surrounding areas over the past three months than we have in years. And crime has plummeted.' Since the task force's launch, police say violence and most property crimes in those neighbourhoods have declined compared to 2024, with violent crime dropping 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona. The department says officers have seized 745 weapons — including 79 guns — made 414 warrant arrests, and filed 258 reports to prosecutors. Addison did not have figures on the number of convictions or recommendations to Crown counsel resulting from the arrests made by the task force. 'The process for (suspects) working their way through the court to a conviction could take months, 18 months, or longer.' He said the figures show that serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters, with the exception of Gastown, which has had no change when compared to 2024. The biggest declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown. Despite progress, Addison described the situation as a continuing struggle due to factors including mental health and drug use, as well as challenges when violent offenders are released from institutions and sent to halfway houses in the neighbourhood. 'It feels like we're trying to hold back a leaky dam,' said Addison. Addison emphasized the need to maintain the momentum of the task force beyond its initial surge. 'We don't want this task force to come to an end after six months and have all the gains we've made, all the progress, go to for naught,' he said. 'There will need to be broader discussions about how to sustain this effort — not just relying on the police department, but involving the community as a whole,' he added, citing senior levels of government, service providers, and community organizations as key partners. 'By having our officers close, we've been able to more easily intervene and arrest people, or stop them when they've committed thefts,' Addison said. Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a 'long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.' Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said: 'Overall, we are pleased with the results of Task Force Barrage, having seen a noticeable decline in major crime in our area.' 'However, we are also conscious of the chronic systems-level challenges that still persist, which policing will not resolve,' Hoyt said. 'We will continue pushing for those services that this community desperately needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
