March 21 - Grocery store to replace Vic Public Market

Good morning !

Welcome to the second day of spring. Downtown residents will have another supermarket option, but they’re about to lose the food kiosks and shops of the Victoria Public Market.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌦️ 9 / 5

Tomorrow: ☀️ 9 / 5

Sunday: 🌧️ 12 / 7

7-day forecast

NEWS

Downtown Victoria Public Market to close, grocery store moving in

The mouth-watering but not-always-bustling downtown food court is shutting down and will be replaced with a grocery store.

When it opened in 2013, the 18K-square-foot, street-level selling space was teeming with succulent food choices and a variety of vendors, but today, only 11 of the 18 spaces are open for business. 

“Unfortunately, like countless businesses, our tenants felt the impacts of the global pandemic,” said Daryl Simpson, president of developer and property owner Townline.

“Given these realities—and after careful deliberation—we have decided to repurpose the space,” Simpson said in a statement.

Simpson said owners of the shops currently operating in the Hudson have been given six months to find new digs. 

That’s because “a full-service, urban-format Canadian grocery store will open in the space early next year,” he said.

There was no immediate word on which supermarket brand to expect to move in—Townline said more details would be made available “in due time.”

The four-storey building on Douglas between Herald and Fisgard was renovated in 2010, adding condos to the top floors.

The heritage-designated edifice is the former home of The Bay—which moved to the Bay Centre (formerly known as the Eaton’s Centre) in 2003, when Eaton’s went bankrupt. A little more than two decades later, The Bay—Canada’s oldest company at 350+ years—is winding down its business under the direction of the Ontario Superior Court.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Federal election could be called on Sun. [For April 28]

Food recall: Habibi’s Mediterranean Hummus Lebanese Style. [Undeclared peanut]

Have your say: Regional water supply strategic plan. [CRD survey]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Improv troupe kicks off the spring season with new monthly shows

Garden City Improv wants you to keep them in mind next time you’re planning a Sat. night out. The improv troupe—known for its ongoing series “Theatresports,” where actors go head to head in a competitive comedy show—is adding a rotating selection of show themes as the improvisers head into the spring and summer seasons.  

Tomorrow will be the first of many Harold Nights—a time-honoured tradition in improv, where a single audience prompt sparks an on-the-spot play that can run for up to an hour. It’s a method that began in San Francisco and grew to be embraced by popular improv hubs like Chicago and Toronto.

“It’s probably the most ubiquitous, the most popular format done in improv in North America, Europe, and the UK,” Kevin Matviw, Garden City founder, told Capital Daily. “It's been a very long tradition.”

Matviw, a veteran of the iconic Second City in Toronto—where comedy stars Gilda Radner, John Candy, and so many others began their careers—has plenty of experience coming up with sketch comedy on the fly. Now, he’s training up-and-coming performers in the art of improvisation.

Matviw says the Harold Night will be a great way for new performers in Victoria to “cut their teeth on this well-known performance style.”

Next Sat., another new show series will launch: Improv Against Humanity. Based on the popular game, Cards Against Humanity, audience members will pull cards—if you’ve played the game, you’ll know the cards often feature raunchy, adult-only jokes—and performers are pressed to come up with a sketch based on the wild suggestions. 

Harold Night, Improv Against Humanity, and Theatresports will each take place on Sat. nights, following a rotating schedule. 

Matviw says he’s hoping the selection of weekly improv events will become “a destination on Saturday night” for Victorians to kick off their evenings. 

Each show is performed at the improv troupe’s home base, SKAM Theatre. To make the jokes even funnier, the shows are fully licensed—“enjoy some comedy and maybe a drink or two,” says Matviw. 

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🫧 Foamy seas and herring spawn as seen in Hammond Bay. [Facebook photos]

📻 CFUV campus & community radio wraps up its annual funding drive today. This year's thank-you gifts for donors include shirts, mugs, and hoodies designed by local Kwakwaka’wakw artist Gwagwadaxla. [Info / donate]

🎵 New music: Victoria-based Cold Fame released a new track, Jawbreaker. [Listen here]

👂🏽 Despite being so common, many people affected by hearing loss are reluctant to get help. The Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre aims to address one of the most common yet stigmatized disabilities in the world. Read more here.*

🌼 Spring equinox: Yesterday marked the first day of spring, and Island flowers are starting to bloom. [Facebook photos]

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Travel to Washington state is down, but Americans still coming here
The Trump tariffs are having an impact on the Coho, with fewer Victorians taking the ship to the US, according to Black Ball, which operates the ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles. Southbound traffic is down 15% at Black Ball. It’s down twice that amount on the Clipper, which connects Vic with Seattle. Destination Greater Victoria said US visitor numbers are on their regular pace. [Times Colonist]

BC Ferries to raise some fares and food prices
Yesterday we told you BC Transit was raising the cost of taking the bus. The same thing goes for the ferry. Beginning April 1, it’s going to cost you $7.60 more to take a car on the boat along major routes. Drive-up tickets for adults will go up 90 cents. Minor-route passage also is going up, up to $2 to take a standard vehicle aboard, and up to 50 cents for drive-up adult fares. Look for a 3.5% increase in food prices, too. [CHEK]

RDN calls for expanded $5 bus routes from Victoria to Nanaimo 
The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) directors co-signed a letter during their Tues. meeting, asking BC’s transportation ministry and BC Transit to support expanding the bus service between the Island cities. The letter asks for hourly buses from 6am to midnight for routes from Victoria to Cowichan Valley and Cowichan Valley to Nanaimo, with a fare of no more than $5. RDN wants the service to begin this year, but needs infrastructure, buses, and increased staffing for it. [Victoria News]

SPONSORED BY BELFRY THEATRE

New Lightfoot musical event opens in April

Tobin Stokes and Michael Shamata are creating a musical concert focusing on the music of the late great Gordon Lightfoot. He was a national hero. And now, Lightfoot’s words and music—which have caressed our ears and haunted our souls—will fill the Belfry in a performance orchestrated especially for Victoria.

🗓️ Things to do

🏃 Michael Dunahee Keep the Hope Alive Run: 34th Annual family 5km walk/run through the beautiful streets of Esquimalt or wherever you are joining from supporting Child Find BC. Wheelchair, stroller, and pet-friendly route. Sun. Esquimalt Recreation Centre. 10am. [Info]

🧠 Psychic & Spiritual Arts Fair: Metaphysical, angel card & tarot readers, alternative medicine, Reiki, energy healers, medical intuitive, spiritual jewelry, crystals, rocks & gems, and spiritual gifts. Tomorrow. Mary Winspear Centre. 10am-5pm. [Info]

🧵 For the Love of Fabric: Designing Women is a group of six local artists who use skills passed down through the ages in new and fresh ways to create innovative art with fabric, pigment, and thread. Gallery Splash in Esquimalt. Tomorrow. 2-4pm. [Info]

🏄 The Beach Boys: Endless Summer Gold. At the helm is lead singer and lyricist Mike Love, a founding member who has steered the band through decades of musical evolution. Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🧼 Melt & pour soap-making for school-age kids & youth: In this hands-on workshop, participants will use the popular melt-and-pour method to create their own soaps in a variety of shapes, scents, and colours. Westshore Town Centre. Today. 1-2:30pm. [Info]

🌱 BYOV Terrarium workshop. Bring your own glass vessel. Enjoy a hands-on experience where you'll learn to create your own mini green oasis to take home. VI Plant Shop. Today. 5:30-6:30pm. [Info]

🎶 Miss Emily: Soul-infused powerhouse with a voice that commands the stage. The Juno nominee from Kingston, Ont. brings her unique soul-blues to the West Coast. Hermann’s. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🩰 Ballet Victoria presents: Carmina Burana. Carl Orff’s epic score, live music, and the emotionally charged voices of the Victoria Choral Society under the baton of Brian Wismath drive one of Destrooper’s masterpieces. Royal Theatre. Today-Sun. 7:30pm. [Info] 

👀 In Case You Missed It

Thursday’s headlines: UVic carbon removal project gets $24M in funding; Bus fare going up; Dropped carbon tax leaves $1.5B hole in BC budget. [Mar. 20]

80 of the best daily food specials in Victoria. [Tasting Victoria]

Chocolate and coffee prices going up. [CHEK]

Secondary not-so-sweet: BC to end secondary-suite incentive program. [CTV]

Oak Bay resident jettisons jury-duty scam. [Times Colonist]

Best Bird in BC Songbird Sing-off from Wildlife Rescue.

Steamboat Vic: See the Inner Harbour captured in 1905. [Facebook photo]

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