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General manager Kelsey Wickett presides over the many special features of Joe Fortes.

JOE FORTES SEAFOOD & CHOP HOUSE
Legendary In More Ways Than One

Named for legendary Vancouver lifeguard Joe Fortes and founded by another local legend, restaurateur Bud Kanke, Joe Forte’s Seafood & Chop House has become something of a legend itself.

When Kanke opened Joe Fortes in 1985, he was already celebrated for a string of successful eateries, including The Cannery, the Fish House in Stanley Park, and Mulvaney’s. He sold the restaurant to another well-known restaurant chain owner David Aisenstat, son of Hy Aisenstat of Hy’s Encore and Hy’s Mansion fame. Aisenstat wisely kept the name and the San Francisco grill theme.

The main dining room is anchored by a soaring horseshoe oyster bar and boasts large, cozy booths. From the mezzanine, diners enjoy a bird’s eye view of the action and, in pre-COVID times and hopefully again soon, live musical entertainment below.

The mahogany-walled wine room offers guests a discreet setting in which to enjoy an intimate lunch, or a private corporate celebration.

A more casual side of Joe’s is experienced in the bistro and bar area where locals and out-of-towners mingle, enjoy the live music and keep their eyes open for visiting celebrities.

The crowning glory at Joe Fortes is the extraordinary rooftop garden, originally designed for Kanke by yet another Vancouver legend, popular garden guru Thomas Hobbs, who created an urban oasis featuring a living green wall, cozy outdoor fireplace and bustling horseshoe bar. Every May media, including The West End Journal’s Joy Metcalfe, were invited to a not-to-be-missed evening to officially open this special site. Obviously, with COVID that didn’t happen last year, but that’s another feature we hope to see recommence soon.

Joe Fortes recently appointed a new general manager in the person of Kelsey Wickett, who began her career at the restaurant as a server. assistant manager, and now commander-in-chief! Her success has been rewarded by numerous awards, and civic recognition by Vancouver Foodster.

You can read more about Joe Fortes and Kelsey Wickett in this month’s Joy’s Journal, and find current information about the menu and COVID restrictions and protocols here.

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Kevin Dale McKeown
Editor & Publisher