Evelyn Chick

The Path

Evelyn Chick began behind the bar at Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver, where the work of service likely first revealed itself in its full rhythm: the snap of orders, the choreography of glassware, the way a bar can become a stage, a meeting point, and a pressure test all at once. From there, she moved through Uva in Vancouver, then on to the Harbord Room in Toronto, and Bar Raval in Toronto, each stop sharpening a different edge of the craft and adding another layer to her understanding of what hospitality can be. That foundation eventually expanded beyond the bar itself into a hospitality executive role, a chapter that lasted until 2024 and added a broader administrative and operational perspective to her hands-on experience. Today, Chick channels that accumulated perspective into a suite of ventures that reflect both range and intent: Evelyn Chick Projects Inc. (since 2020), Love of Cocktails (since 2020), Ahma (since 2021), and SIMPL THINGS (since 2022). Taken together, they sketch the arc of a career that has moved from service into ownership, and from individual shifts into a more expansive framework for creating work, brand identity, and hospitality on her own terms.

The Work Today

During the pandemic, like so many others, I was laid off from my role as a hospitality executive. I decided to channel my energy into Evelyn Chick Projects, which has become my umbrella company. That pivot reads less like a detour than a reassembly. What had been scattered across roles and rooms became, under Evelyn Chick Projects, a more coherent structure — an umbrella company built to hold the different threads of her work. Rather than stepping away from hospitality, she seems to have translated years of experience into a more self-directed model, one in which ownership and hospitality work are no longer separate lanes but parts of the same ongoing practice. She now focuses on ownership and hospitality work through that umbrella company and her bar business. In this phase, the emphasis is less on moving through someone else’s spaces and more on shaping her own, with the same attention to atmosphere, movement, and the lived-in details that define a memorable drinking experience.

Signature

Evelyn's signature dishes include For the Love of Cocktails. The name alone suggests a certain sensibility: playful but sincere, polished without losing its wink. It fits Chick’s public persona, which pairs professional seriousness with a conversational ease, the kind that can turn an answer into a line people remember.

In Their Words “During the pandemic, like so many others, I was laid off from my role as a hospitality executive. I decided to channel my energy into Evelyn Chick Projects, which has become my umbrella company.”

Acclaim

Evelyn's honors include Beefeater Gin MIXLDN cocktail competition, global title. That global title stands as a clear marker of the caliber of her work, the kind of recognition that places her firmly among the names worth watching in contemporary cocktail culture.