Two Gibsons businesses owners are relocating their business, a move they say wasn’t planned, but will be an adventure.
Rebecca and David Bristow are co-owners of the Black Bean Cafe in Gibsons, and they say moving their location has some ups and downs, but they jumped at the chance to move to the world-famous Molly’s Reach.
Rebecca says both she and her brother were taken by surprise when they were told they had to look for another facility, in the fall, but they were grateful a place was available.
“It sparked the journey of looking for another location with our lease ending at the end of January,” she says. “Molly’s has literally been down the street from us this entire time, so we called them up and thought it would be an adventure.”
Molly’s Reach has been a Canadian icon since the television show The Beachcombers aired in 1972, but it has been vacant for some time. Rebecca says they’re excited to bring new life into the building and have been welcomed by the community.
“Seeing all the comments about this move, and how excited people are about this move and Molly’s and having that space accessible to them again is motivating,” she says. “It’s just really exciting to see how much the community wants Molly’s back.”
Her brother David echoed her comments but also added that when the announcement was made it sparked a lot of emotions, and they just want to do what’s right for the area.
“There’s definitely a huge responsibility for us to create a lovely environment, not only for our staff, but for the community as well,” he says. “It’s a lot of pressure, but this is also something close to our core values that we’ve had at the Black Bean.
“I feel that we’re the right people to take, but I don’t want to let the community down.”
Rebecca and David both agreed they will only make minimal changes to the building and area of Molly’s because of its history, but say they’re going to incorporate the Black Bean’s brand into the facility with the addition of their baked goods, coffee and a few other additions once they get started.
No confirmed opening date has been set by the Bristow’s, but they’re hoping to start serving customers early in February.
