The average customer coming in for the early bird breakfast special or fresh-baked goods may not pay much heed to the date stamp high atop the facade of WillieB次元官网网址檚 Bakery and Caf茅.
For owner-operator Doug King, however, the 1887 mark on the Lower Johnson building is a sign of a link to the past he actively tries to maintain. From the antique wooden floors, old-style counters and interior brickwork, to the historic photos and early morning smell of fresh baked goods, visitors need not stretch their imagination to picture original baker Louis Wille pulling hot loaves out of a brick oven.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely one of our bragging rights,B次元官网网址� King says of the building that houses his eatery as well as IsabellaB次元官网网址檚 Guest Suites upstairs. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 got this long and wonderful history.B次元官网网址�
When German immigrant Louis Wille and his wife, Augusta, expanded their bakery operation from New Westminster to Victoria in 1887 it began a decades-long family tradition that lasted until 1976.
A return to part of that tradition came in 1999, when the space was reopened as WillieB次元官网网址檚 Bakery B次元官网网址� the spelling change honoured the son of new owners, Mike and Shellie Gudgeon.
While locals know WillieB次元官网网址檚 today as a place to find numerous eggs Benedict options and all-day breakfast, King, who took over in 2005, admits the connection to the buildingB次元官网网址檚 original use is a good drawing card for visitors to the city.
B次元官网网址淭ourists are the topping on the dessert for us,B次元官网网址� he says.
That tourist market is tapped in other ways by KingB次元官网网址檚 company. Beside the guest suites upstairs, in the former longtime home of Louis and Augusta Wille, they also operate the caf茅 in the Royal B.C. Museum, and the diner car snack bar outside the museum in summer.
B次元官网网址� WillieB次元官网网址檚 Bakery and Caf茅, 537 Johnson St., 250-381-8414, williesbakery.com.
Slegg Realty expands in up-Island markets
A recent move by Coldwell Banker real estate offices in Nanaimo, Parksville and Courtenay to join forces with Greater Victoria-based Slegg Realty gives the company 48 representatives on Vancouver Island. That makes Slegg Realty, an offshoot of the lumber and hardware business built up by Ron and Steve Slegg, one of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 largest and fastest-growing real estate brokerages.
Victoria operations net tourism awards
Tourism Victoria and Maple Leaf Adventures earned national recognition last week when the 2012 Canadian Tourism Awards were handed out in Gatineau, Que. Tourism Victoria won the Social Media Initiative Award for its Escape Your Everyday campaign, aimed at potential visitors from Vancouver and Seattle. It included a Facebook contest, billboard ads, flash mobs and other media. Maple Leaf, which runs tours to Haida GwaB次元官网网址檌i and the B.C. North Coast on its traditional schooner vessel, won the Sustainable Tourism Award.
Local cruise specialists recognized by Expedia
Last week was a good one for the Victoria office of Expedia CruiseShipCentres. At the companyB次元官网网址檚 national conference in Vancouver, consultants from the 911 Yates St. location were recognized for achieving new levels of sales under its Presidents Circle Awards program. Earning platinum status were Sandy Perry and Lexia Anklovitch; achieving gold status were Julie Charlton, Barry Cole and Margaret Statham, and Paul Barton, Marni Horner, Sheila Kaul, Ute McLean and Pamela MacDonald achieved silver. The team also won the top sales award from Holland America Cruise Lines.
Business association launches updated website
A categorized, searchable list of businesses, a full events listing, program descriptions and a blog are among the features of the Downtown Victoria Business Association's redesigned website (downtownvictoria.ca). Rebuilt by Victoria company Trapeze Communications, the aim of the mobile-friendly site is to better provide fast and easily accessible information on downtown goods and services to both locals and visitors.
Names around town in the business news
The team of Eric Brabander, Annette Wagers, Natalia Simo and John Turner from Camosun College won the annual Certified Management Accountants Society of B.C. business case competition for their detailed financial analysis of a small antiques store. They won a $2,500 shared scholarship B次元官网网址� Paul Paterson and his Go Time Motorsports are going great guns with Gio products. TheyB次元官网网址檝e been selling the Chinese-made electric scooters and ATVs and other motorcycle products from their location on Goldstream Avenue since the summer.
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