Several small businesses displaced by suspicious East Hastings fire
Before it went up in flames Saturday, a commissary kitchen on East Hastings Street was home to several small businesses that generated livelihoods for dozens of families.
“It’s grown over the years. It had housed probably about 30 small businesses, several food trucks,” said Yasmin McKenzie, who managed the space. “A lot of businesses got their start there. It was sort of an incubator.”
In addition to leasing kitchen space to other businesses such as food trucks and other culinary ventures, McKenzie also used it to prep ingredients for her own food trucks, including Mom’s Grilled Cheese.
Since the fire, other commissary kitchens have stepped up to offer her time and space so she can keep her business going.
In the meantime, surveying the damage after the fire was devastating.
“I started this business at 24, so I’ve spent over a decade in the Downtown Eastside working,” she said. “For this to happen after all of these years, it’s hard to believe.”
McKenzie says the fire began on the sidewalk outside at the front of the building – and because of that, the insurance policy she has does not cover losses that she estimates to be about $60,000.
“Our insurance covered a fire from inside because we just assumed if we had a fire it would start from one of our cooking appliances, not from a person outside,” said McKenzie.
Vancouver police confirm the fire is considered suspicious and an investigation is underway but no arrests have been made.
Top Rope Birria Tacos is one of several other food trucks that relied on the commissary kitchen for food prep before hitting the streets.
Owner Kevin McKenzie says some of the sauces and braises necessary for his tacos take hours, even days, to prepare and without access to the kitchen space the truck will be parked for the foreseeable future.
“Right now I think the thing for us to do is step back and look at what we’ve lost and assess where the business is,” he said. “But as of right now, we are closed.”
A pair of fundraisers have already been established to help the impacted businesses get back on their feet.
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