An iconic building on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast will soon get new life thanks to a neighboring business.
Molly’s Reach, popularized by the CBC television series vagabondswhich operated from 1972 to 1990, has been empty since 2023. The owners retired and put the restaurant up for sale, hoping someone would carry on the legacy of Molly’s Reach.
Enter the owners of Black Bean Cafe, located just down the street from the iconic Gibsons Restaurant.
David Bristow, who runs the cafe with his sister Becca, said they learned last fall that the lease on their former location along Marine Drive would end in January.
It was “a big shock,” David told the CBC show’s host. The first edition, Stephen Quinn.
The first edition5:39Molly’s Reach has new owners
The iconic restaurant made famous by The Beachcombers has been closed for over a year. The new owners share their plans.
He said Black Bean Cafe has been in its current location for 20 years and, although it has changed owners a couple of times, it has become a pillar in the community.
So the duo started looking at other venues, of which there are few on the Sunshine Coast, David said. Knowing that Molly’s Reach had been on the market for a while, they called the owners and made a deal.
“Obviously, it’s a huge task and a huge responsibility to take over something as iconic as Molly’s Reach, but in many ways, both Black Bean and Molly’s Reach are like community centers, so it made a lot of sense to merge them,” David said. .
The new Molly’s Reach, which will keep its name, is expected to open in late February.
The restaurant has since been featured in the Fox series Murder in a Small Town, which takes place in the fictional community of Gibsons and is based on a series of mystery novels by Canadian author LR Wright.
A real estate listing for the property says the customer areas were completely renovated in 2022, keeping the historic nature of the building intact while modernizing the space. The listing, which was still active on O’Reilly Real Estate Group’s website on Wednesday, showed the asking price at $150,000.
Becca said taking over the space means her cafe will have twice as much seating inside.
“Our indoor seating in our current cafeteria is quite limited,” he said. “In summer we have our patio, but in winter we lose it.”
Becca said people in the community have been “lovely” and “supportive” to hear about the change taking place along the Gibsons seafront.
“Honestly, the outpouring of support we’ve received has been absolutely amazing to us.”
