Bruce Constantineau
Sun
The Cannery’s Commissioner Street location within Vancouver’s working harbour offers a unique view of Burrard Inlet. The restaurant hopes to find another waterfront location. Photograph by : Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun
Iconic Vancouver restaurant The Cannery Seafood House — an east Vancouver waterfront landmark since 1971 — will have to shut down and permanently relocate in 2010.
Cannery general manager Jean Turcotte confirmed Wednesday the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority will not renew the restaurant’s lease, which expires shortly after the 2010 Olympics.
“Of course it’s a disappointment because we have been in this location for so many years,” he said in an interview. ” . . . We’re going to move but we haven’t looked for a new location yet so there’s no plan right now.”
VFPA representative Anne McMullin said the port authority decided two years ago that for security and operations reasons, the restaurant could not carry on at its present location.
“They’re a great tenant and always have been,” she said in an interview. “We have tried to work with them in many different ways but from a security and operational perspective, there’s just not an opportunity to extend [the lease] past 2010.”
McMullin said port officials have tried unsuccessfully to find alternative sites for the restaurant and deliberately extended the current lease past the 2010 Games so it could benefit from the increased business.
The popular seafood restaurant in the heart of a bustling working harbour opened in its present Commissioner Street location in August 1971. Its unique waterfront harbour views and consistent food and service quality have made it a longtime favourite with locals and tourists.
Increased port security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks forced port officials to permanently close access from Victoria Drive, making it harder for patrons to find the restaurant.
“It was hard for locals to find us at first and it hurt business a bit during the first year,” Turcotte said. “But everybody is aware of it now and we are back to normal so business is really strong right now.”
He said finding another waterfront location will be a top priority when the search for a new restaurant site begins.
“There are things we have to keep and waterfront is definitely one of them because it’s part of the concept,” Turcotte said. “We’d like to stay in Vancouver but I can’t tell you that will happen for sure. But of course that would be our first choice.”
