Restaurant chain A&W will be opening a location this spring in a key retail space at 1023 Government Street in downtown Victoria. The building was formerly occupied by Montreal-based jeweller Birks, which exited its Victoria operations in March of 2022.
The new Government Street A&W will span about 1,400 square feet, according to Mika Desloges, A&W’s Manager of Real Estate for Western Canada, and will be the first in the chain to feature a walk-up window. A unique feature in the restaurant will be its ceiling — the construction team discovered original woodwork and exposed brick when removing what was there before, and the heritage elements will be incorporated into the new A&W.
A&W will attempt to keep as many of the original elements of the building as possible, according to Desloges, including the facade and various design elements. The clock on the exterior of the building, installed by former tenant Birks, will also be retained.
The franchised restaurant is owned by Wyatt McMurray of the McMurray Group, which operates 42 A&W franchises in British Columbia.
The prime corner at Government Street and Fort Street is across from a multi-level Hudson’s Bay department store and the adjacent Bay Centre shopping mall. An opposite corner is occupied by Lugaro Jewellers, which features a selection of Rolex watches on site. Government Street is frequented by tourists, particularly in the summer. The new A&W will be about three blocks north of the historic Empress Hotel and the Inner Harbour.
Visitors to the Inner Harbour area will also have the opportunity to shop at a new 6,500 Lululemon store that was just announced to be opening this year. The store will be located in the iconic Customs House building with a facade facing onto the corner of Government Street and Wharf Street.
Birks vacated its Government Street store in March of 2020 after operating in the city for 74 years. Birks moved into the 1023 Government Street store in June of 2001. Prior to that, Birks operated out of a much larger space at 706-708 Yates Street, from 1948 until 2001. Birks moved its operations to Government Street as downtown retail polarized in that direction and away from Douglas Street.
Prior to Birks, the 1023 Government Street building was occupied by a retailer called METRO Today’s Clothing, which opened in 1994. From the mid 1950s to 1993, an Indigenous art retailer called The Quest operated a store there. Newspaper advertisements in the 1940s and 1950s noted a “K Shoe store” that occupied the address for the time. About a century ago, the site was occupied by a John Cochrane Williams drug store.
Surprisingly, there actually is an A&W in the Bay Centre that has more or less been a food court anchor since the mall was built. I asked the staff whether this was going to be a relocation, but apparently they intend on keeping both locations open to serve different traffic patterns. The food court sits on the fourth floor above the Douglas Street entrance, while the new restaurant will be next to the ‘quiet’ Government Street side, so we may see both A&Ws coexisting at opposite ends of the same block. It’ll be especially interesting to see if the walk-up counter takes off as a viable concept that could be used elsewhere.
A&W where Birks used to be. Lulu Lemon where Customs House used to be. I actually can’t wait until the legislature is replaced with a Taco Bell.