Tell Us Your Story. What motivated you to start your business? Why are you passionate about what you do?

Steve Huynh, founder of Steve’s Poké Bar, was born in a Malaysian refugee camp as a result of the Vietnam War. His parents were sponsored to Canada although half of his family lives in various parts of Oahu. He spent much of his life growing up between Vancouver and Honolulu, and he shares many childhood memories there – from days at the beach with cousins, adventurous night snorkeling, to learning how to cut whole ahi tuna and perfecting authentic Hawaiian poké from a mix of family recipes and influences from his favourite local poké joints. Steve’s Poké Bar was born when Steve and his wife Camy, wanted to share their love of Hawaiian poké with fellow Vancouverites. Their love story began in Hawaii in 2010. Prior to that trip, Camy did not eat raw fish because of a negative childhood experience. Steve wanted to introduce Camy to the local Hawaiian lifestyle, including poké – the must-try Hawaiian staple, which was their first stop off the plane. From that moment, Camy not only started eating raw fish again, but loving and craving poké. Before 2016, poké was almost unheard of in Vancouver. Now, it is amazing to see Steve's childhood comfort food grow and evolve from fusion flavours to poké burritos. How is Steve’s Poké Bar different? Steve wanted to preserve the method and traditional way of serving authentic Hawaiian poké, the way he grew up with poké, with the option of adding various toppings to complete a healthy meal. Steve and Camy’s love of the local Hawaiian lifestyle sparked their desire to open an authentic Hawaiian poké bar in 2017. There are now several locations in the Lower Mainland to spread ALOHA and bring the best poké experiences to our guests. If you would like to get poké the Hawaiian way, through a culture of awesome people and amazing experiences, come see us, and mahalo for sharing your love of poké with us!

Describe and demonstrate, including metrics, your community support. How do you support and uplift your community, and how do they show that support in return? Minimum 25 words, maximum 2500 characters.

We continuously support school events, community event sponsorships, partner with local initiatives to be an actively integral part of the communities we are located in. Every year since 2017, we have sponsored 50+ university groups at both SFU and UBC. We donated hundreds of bowls to frontline workers in 2020 across multiple local hospitals. We donated $3400 to the Abbotsford Community Foundation during the 2021 flood disaster. We were a 2022 sponsor of the Tricities Moms Group with over 12,500+ members.

Why do you deserve to win the Business Impact award?

Steve's Poké Bar is a representation of what a company can accomplish when we hold the highest standard in our people through authenticity, integrity, through our quality and consistency of food and service to have the highest long-term impact in our communities. We have a big vision for ourselves, and our love and pride for the business we have built shows through the people we continue to attract to be a part of the Steve's Poké Bar family.

Tell Us About Your Culture. How are you creating a sustainable and healthy workplace where everyone feels welcome? Provide examples of leadership you show in interactions with clients, vendors, contractors, staff and others.

We have also built a culture where people love to work, with many employees having been with us since the company's inception because we strive to uplift our staff by coaching them on how to continuously grow and develop, to have a vision and create goals, and to learn skills that they can take with them in their careers with us or in the community. We treat everyone as guests - not only customers, but our staff and our management, and with this philosophy, we believe we are one of the best places to work.

Why do you think you should win the Premier’s People’s Choice Award?

Steve's Poké Bar has been a community favourite for over six years all of the Lower Mainland with over 7800+ reviews collectively online. Our mantra is simple - awesome poké by awesome people - and that is why Steve's Poké Bar should win the Premier's People's Choice Award.