Dear reader,

We all have favourite neighbourhood haunts. 

It’s that cozy breakfast cafe frequented by familiar faces who smile at you as they step in from the cold and settle in at their usual table. The take-out pizza or sushi joint around the corner where the person behind the counter recognizes you walking through the door and reaches for your order.

Today we're sharing our weekly series called Eat Streets, a celebration of local restaurants and their importance to healthy communities. 

Our reporters visited and mapped 10 stretches of road with clusters of eateries. Together they offer a taste of Metro Vancouver’s diversity and hopefully encourage you to venture out to discover something new.

Our first story explores Vancouver's Victoria Drive.

A survey last November found 46 per cent of B.C. restaurants struggling and another eight per cent at risk of closing. Grim statistics for an industry fuelled by hard-working entrepreneurs and critical to local economies and neighbourhood vibrancy.

Restaurants provide local jobs, serve as gathering places, support local farmers, enliven neighbourhoods and introduce us to dishes and customs from around the world.

The region is home to many more locations than the 10 to be profiled in the Eat Streets series.

Can you recommend an area for us to explore?

We would love to extend the series with your help and give a much-needed boost to local restaurants. 

Kind regards,

Harold Munro
Editor-in-Chief
Vancouver Sun |The Province