Speaker Mark BRAND

Mark Brand, owner and partner of the Mark Brand Inc. empire, is one of Vancouver's most prolific and successful independent restaurateurs. Mark currently owns and operates seven businesses in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown core including an award-winning restaurant and clothing line. A founding member of the Hastings Business Improvement Association, Mark is a natural and charismatic leader, heavily involved in community efforts in the Downtown Eastside.

With the re-opening of Vancouver's iconic Save-On-Meats building, Mark has set out to resuscitate the neighbourhood by offering affordable, high quality food for all and helping to improve the lives of residents in the Downtown Eastside. Mark's vision is to make Save-On-Meats home to genuine social enterprise that helps a dispossessed community while turning a profit. With a project of this scale and his reputation as a successful entrepreneur on the line, Mark is facing one his riskiest challenges yet.