Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter.
If you’ve been fortunate enough (or unfortunate enough, depending on the season) to take in a Canucks game from one of the high-level suites at Rogers Arena, you’ve likely run into former goalie Kirk McLean and his wife, Genevieve. From his time with the Canucks in the ’90s, the ’tender is best known for “The Save”. He also had one of the more iconic equipment setups in Vancouver hockey history. These days he surveys the stadium in a suit jacket as an official team ambassador, meeting with fans and sponsors and taking part in the festivities.
Genevieve, an advertising sales executive as well as a board member of the Michael Cuccione Foundation, is often at his side.
“I got traded here in ’87 and I never looked back,” says Kirk, who is originally from Toronto, over breakfast at Cafe Medina. “And when I got traded away, I’d still come back here in the summers. It was pretty easy to fall in love.”
Asked if he still gets recognized on the street here, Genevieve cuts in: “Every day. I’m almost just waiting for it to happen here. It’s surprising because he wore a mask. But then you see how much he does for the team and the city—hospital visits, charities—and it makes sense.”
How long have you lived in the neighbourhood?
GM: About seven years.
What do you love about it?
KM: Everything is so close. That’s the great thing about Downtown. Wherever you may be, it’s easy access anywhere, and you can put the car in the garage and walk
everywhere, which we do. We don’t pull the vehicle out unless it’s for work purposes or we’re heading out to the other side of the bridge. And in the summer we’ll just take the bikes.
Favourite places
GM: Hello Nori, we love. Hand-rolled sushi. And then we’re big into dim sum—Kirin and Pink Pearl.
KM: We’re old school, we like everything. We can go from Original Joe’s to Elisa or Blue Water. There are so many choices.
I’m often found at…
KM: I’m a big music guy. There’s nothing better than the Commodore or the Orpheum or a big show at Rogers. I was just looking at David Byrne tickets at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Best recent purchase
GM: Foot rubs at Yuen. We do a lot of foot rubs; they’re really great.
Underrated gem
GM: The Dirty Apron. Most people think of it as a cooking school, which is a great
experience. But it’s really good for stopping by, too.
KM: Lupo. An Italian place that’s in an old house down from the fire station. It’s been around a long time and it really is a gem.
Thing you’d change
GM: Better transit systems to get people in and around the city. If I wanted to get over to English Bay, it isn’t easy to jump on a bus to do that. There’s nothing new. It’s gotten better with the Lime [scooters]; I love those, and they help a lot. And it is mostly walkable. But I think it needs to be a bit easier to get people in and out of places.
Popular misconceptions
GM: People think that all the good restaurants are on Alberni, or in Yaletown. But any place you go into neighbourhood wise, Gastown, Coal Harbour, there are Michelin spots everywhere.
Favourite quiet spot
KM: Early in the morning we’ll go for a walk and sit outside Delany’s with our coffees. It’s still early enough that it’s quiet there.