Mates on Crates Feat. Roger Collins
G’day,
Those in the know, know where to go.
We’re excited to have just launched our latest episode of Mates on Crates, featuring Roger Collins, Owner of Rise Up Marketplace in Vancouver. Rise Up Marketplace is a four-and-a-half-year-old community bodega in Strathcona, bringing together Caribbean food, music, culture, art, and local products in a warm, welcoming space. Guests can expect Jamaican patties, jerk chicken, baked goods, coffee, and a wide range of products from local and international makers, as well as monthly block parties that bring DJs, guest chefs, food vendors, and the neighbourhood together. Roger brings decades of hospitality experience to the shop, having worked in restaurants in Toronto and the Cayman Islands before moving to Vancouver, where he worked at The Reef, The Keg, and Chambar before spending more than a decade running Calabash Bistro in Gastown. After a car accident during COVID left him in a wheelchair for four months, he discovered the Vernon Drive space and decided it was time for a new chapter, opening Rise Up as a daytime gathering place centred around community, culture, and hospitality.
It was a pleasure to sit down with Roger to chat about his hospitality journey, Rise Up Marketplace, Caribbean food and culture, community, supporting local and Black-owned businesses, and all of Roger’s favourite spots.
Each time we do a Mates on Crates interview, our guests share up to twenty of their favourites with us. For each episode, only a handful of those favourites make it into the final two minute cut. In order to highlight all of our guest’s favourites, we are happy to share the full list of favourites right here.
Roger’s favourites at Rise Up Marketplace:
Snack: Mushroom Patties from Elbo Jamaican Patties
Dessert: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake from Chow Runna
The FULL LIST of Roger’s Local Favourites:
Brunch: Red Wagon Cafe
Caribbean: Rehanah’s Roti Shop, Baby Dhal
Coffee: Moja Coffee on Commercial Drive
Dying to Try: Dovetail, Como Taperia
Food Neighbourhood: Gastown
Hidden Gem: DD Mau
Last Meal That Blew Them Away: Tasty Indian Bistro
Pastry: Croissant from Cadeaux Bakery
Pizza: Just Pizza
Take an Out of Town Guest: Café Medina for brunch, Chancho for lunch, and Harambe for dinner
Outside of Vancouver: Parkside Brewery in Port Moody, and Ucluelet
Vegetarian: The Burrow, Sula, Tasty Indian Bistro
Thanks for joining us, Roger!
Watch Roger’s full Mates on Crates Episode below.
