At the end of November, Cadboro Bay cafe Olive Olio’s, which has served quality coffee and eats to locals for 30 years, will shutter its doors for good.
“It's with considerable melancholy that I am choosing to retire at this time,” said the cafe’s owner and operator William Hall. “I've had an extremely positive 30-year run here and I have a great, great respect for the community and for the wonderful clientele that I’ve had.”
Born in Edmonton, Hall moved to Victoria in the early 1990s where he landed a job at Olive Olio’s when the original owners opened it 1995.
“I've always felt comfortable in cafes, and I like an environment where people can communicate ideas or be left alone to read or talk,” he said. “To actually have it be one's place of occupation was really lovely.”
Two years later, the cafe-lover bought the establishment, which, sitting at the corner of Cadboro Bay Road and Penrhyn Street, has since become a Cadboro Bay mainstay, helping define the look and feel of the area, all the while providing quality food and coffee to locals.
One of these locals, Katie Brown, who has lived in Cadboro Bay for 18 years, said she is “very sad” about the business closing.
“For me, it’s been a consistently welcoming and happy place to go and see people, be with people, meet friends,” she said, before recalling her first visit to the shop.
"My husband and I had just moved from Toronto and it was raining and we were busy trying to renovate the place that we had bought, and I remember looking out the window and thinking, ‘Oh my, will I ever feel comfortable here?’ she added. "It wasn't long after that that we started to feel very connected, and Olive Olio's was one of the reasons we did.”
Other patrons, including David Bowie – a Washington resident in no way related to the British rock legend – said shops like Olive Olio’s provide a much-needed place for locals to connect.
“If you lose all that, you're just a bunch of strangers,” he added.
Carol Murray, who has lived in Victoria for 30 years, couldn’t hide her disappointment about the shop’s closing.
“It’s a bloody shame,” she said. “I feel bad that small businesses are being wiped out one by one.”
Some are even concerned about the effect Olive Olio’s departure will have on Cadboro Bay Village itself.
“I’m sure it’ll leave a hole in the neighbourhood," said Barry Phillips, who works in the area and has been frequenting the shop for two years. “I’m very disappointed.”
Online, dozens have expressed their support for Hall.
"This was my favourite coffee place when I was in grad school in the late '90s," said an Instagram user. "Thanks for the great coffee, the snacks, the memories and good luck to the owners and staff in the future."
A Facebook user said, “Love, love, love this community gathering space and its kind, considerate, long-standing ... owner.”
In recent weeks, Hall has been showered with dozens of comments like these, including one from a married couple, who told him that Olive Olio’s is especially important to them because it's where they shared their first date 15 years ago.
The shop’s closing has caused a stir, with some confused about why the establishment is set to shutter in just over a week.
On a Facebook thread, the building’s new owner Andrew Wilkinson said he was surprised to hear that Hall would not be re-signing Olive Olio’s lease, which ends at the end of this month. Wilkinson added that municipal roadwork in Cadboro Bay Village – expected to last until early 2026 – contributed to Hall’s decision to close the shop.
Hall wasn't interested in discussing the specifics of his decision to not renew the shop's lease, but he said the construction didn’t affect it.
“This building has been owned by the same group of families since 1947, and this is the first time since 1947 that it's changed hands. I think anybody who takes it on is probably going to have a different vision,” he said. “Life is either black and white or there are shades of grey, and I tend to do well in a black-and-white universe where I have all the information in front of me. If it's not in front of me and there are shades of grey, then there's some reluctance for me to reinvest capital, which I have worked hard to acquire.”
Sam Goski, the co-owner and operator of the now-shuttered Gyro Beach Board Shop, which sits next to Olive Olio’s, told Black Press Media in September that one of the reasons he and his partner closed their store was the uncertainty over what the new building owner planned to do with the property.
Whatever the reason for the shop’s closing, one thing is for certain: Hall will cherish the fond memories he made over his three decades whipping up lattes.
“The most salient experience I've had in all of those years would probably be the pandemic and how the community was incredibly supportive,” he said. “I remember these warm-hearted people who were relentlessly pleasant and warm and affable, and it made an otherwise stressful situation really memorable.”
While Hall is unsure what his future will hold, he will forever remember the decades he spent doing what he loves, in an environment and neighbourhood he loves, for people he loves.
“It's been a wonderful experience and the source of so many great life experiences," he said. "I'm going to miss it terribly."
