An iconic building on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast will soon get a new lease on life, thanks to a neighboring business.
Molly's Reach, made popular by the CBC television series Beachcomberswhich ran from 1972 to 1990, has sat vacant since 2023. The owners retired and put the restaurant up for sale, hoping someone would carry on Molly's accessible legacy.
Enter the owners of the Black Bean Cafe, located just down the street from the iconic Gibson's restaurant.
David Bristow, who runs the cafe with his sister Becca, said they learned last fall that the lease at their longtime location along Marine Drive would expire in January.
“It came as quite a shock,” David told the CBC host. early version, Stephen Quinn.
Early version5:39Molly's Access gets new owners
The iconic restaurant made famous by The Beachcombers has been closed for more than a year. The new owners share their plans.
He said the Black Bean Cafe has been in its current location for 20 years, and although it has changed hands twice, it remains a pillar of the community.
So, the pair started looking for other venues – of which there are few on the Sunshine Coast, David said. Knowing Molly's Access had been on the market for a while, they called the owners, and they struck a deal.
“Obviously taking on something as iconic as Molly's Reach is a big undertaking and a big responsibility, but in many ways, both Black Bean and Molly's Reach are like community hubs, so it made a lot of sense to kind of merge them,” David said.
The new Molly's Access, which will retain its name, is expected to open in late February.
The restaurant has since been featured in the Fox series Murder in a Small Town, which takes place in Gibson's fictional community and is based on a series of mystery novels by Canadian author LR Wright.
A real estate listing for the property says the customer areas were completely renovated in 2022, which kept the historic nature of the building in tact while modernizing the space. A listing still active on O'Reilly Real Estate Group's website Wednesday showed a sale price of $150,000.
Becca said taking over the space will double the amount of indoor seating at their cafe.
“Our indoor seating in our current cafe is very limited,” she said. “In the summer, we have our yard, but in the winter we lose it.”
Becca said people in the community have been “charming” and “supportive” as they learn about the changes taking place on the Gibson waterfront.
“Honestly, the outpouring of support has been absolutely amazing for us.”
