Groundswell Cafe invites you to their dining room. Explore a menu featuring barbecue and a bar-b-q and grilling menu and can get there by public transit. They are positioned in an area filled with parks, restaurants and merchants. Payments by American Express, MasterCard and Visa are recognized.
Located in the Oppenheimer district of the Downtown Eastside, Groundswell Café is at the nexus of slick Railtown, the historic Chinatown, Japantown and Strathcona neighbourhoods, and the complicated and vibrant Downtown Eastside. The café opened in March 2015, with a mandate to not only serve the community but to shape it. A project of Groundswell Grassroots Economic Alternatives program, the café emerged as a way for the “alternative to business-as-usual” school to “walk our talk,” says co-creator Amanda Kai. “We try to be a bridge between the long-term residents of the Downtown Eastside and the new blood that’s coming in. It’s a lofty idea, but we’re pretty sure that we can do it.”
With a background in holistic nutrition and a passion for connecting the Aboriginal community with their traditional foods and practices, Amanda is no stranger to the neighbourhood. She spent six years working with local cooking programs, workshops and medicine walks. When Groundswell co-founder Matt Hern approached her to create the café, she saw a chance to create a space that is “totally inclusive and diverse.”
