About

The Gain Wah Project  is an initiative that began in Spring 2023 and is led by a coalition of community members united by a shared commitment to restore the Gain Wah restaurant, beloved by many for more than 30 years, as a legacy Chinatown business and affordable cultural food asset in Vancouver.

On September 9, 2022 a fire in the Gain Wah restaurant at 218 Keefer Street forced its closure and displaced 39 residents living in the Keefer Rooms SRO above it. On October 17, 2023 the B.C. government purchased the building with plans to renovate and transfer ownership to the Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust (DTES CLT) to ensure the space remains affordable and resists gentrification  in the neighbourhood. Our coalition is working in partnership with the DTES CLT and the Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society (SRO-C) who have been leading tenant-based initiatives in the Keefer Rooms building since 2020 and are providing leadership to preserve affordable housing along with food programs and services. 

We have created a steering committee to create a community-based vision for a new Gain Wah restaurant that would operate as a sustainable social food enterprise and community gathering space. This is a unique opportunity for the community to collectively honour the history of Gain Wah and to imagine – and realize – a diversity of possibilities for an innovative food hub that serves residents of the overlapping Chinatown and Downtown Eastside neighbourhoods for years to come. 

Together, we are committed to facilitating a process to rebuild a new Gain Wah that is created by and for the community.