Amongst the exposed brick of Gastown, Secret Location stands out like an exotic bird with its aqua-blue awning, sleek white-on-white interior and sparkling Phillipe Starck-designed chandelier. Part exclusive lifestyle store and part high-end restaurant, since opening in 2012, Canada’s first concept store has already won a loyal legion of fans and a place on French Vogue’s Top Ten Concept Stores in the World.
“A concept store represents all facets of a lifestyle and for me food is a large part of that,” says Secret Location’s chic owner, Carey Melnichuk. “So we have a great restaurant and we also sell everything from beauty products, art and home wares to women’s and menswear and jewellery.”
Heading up Secret Location’s kitchen team is award-winning chef Jefferson Alvarez whose personal motto is “creativity never sleeps.” Last year, Jefferson launched his 300 Dishes project, where he created an entirely different 10-course tasting menu every night for a month. “We use techniques and go the extra effort to make sure what we have is totally different from everyone else,” says Jefferson. “I always go above and beyond to make each dish, which sometimes takes months to develop before it’s perfect.”
