A first look inside: Vancouver landmark in Stanley Park set to reopen after four year closure
Posted May 10, 2019 5:32 am.
Last Updated May 10, 2019 7:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER ( NEWS 1130) – It last saw customers inside almost four years ago but now, an iconic Vancouver building is almost set to reopen.
The historic restaurant at 8901 Stanley Park Drive was most recently known as the Fish House and had operated as an eatery in some form or another since the late 1940s.
The doors closed in the fall of 2015 but now, Stanley Park Brewing Co. is putting the final touches on the heritage site, which will become a restaurant and brewpub.
“It’s an old building and was hiding some secrets but it’s got some great potential as well,” says Stanley Park Brewing GM Doug Devlin.
“Going back to the studs uncovered a lot of things. We did come in expecting that we would need to do a series of upgrades to get this heritage building (where we needed it to be).”
The building has literally been taken down to the foundation and built back up over the last year and a half.
Careful construction started in December 2017 and workers are still busily putting the finishing strokes on the site, which will also have an on-site, small-batch brewery.
Much of that equipment is located in the basement, and repairing the historic foundation was one of the biggest challenges construction crews faced in the multi-million-dollar renovation.
“The biggest challenges were really in the foundations and the security of the building. Over a period of decades obviously our standards change and getting the foundation walls right, getting the basement foundations right was critical to making sure the experience is great upstairs and that it’s going to be great for another hundred years,” says Devlin.
A vaulted ceiling space will allow more light inside the space while a pair of patios adorn the exterior.
The whole facility has a capacity of just over 250 with 100 of those split between the patios, which have workers on scaffolding hammering away on some final touches.
It has come a long way and understandably, there were some bumps in the road.
“We came in with a target that was some time ago. So now we’re just reacting to what the conditions present to us,” says Devlin.
“We knew coming in to the building that part of the upgrade was to abate some of the old building materials that were used, things that wouldn’t be used today, and things like asbestos. Those were all part of our plan early on. Really it was the magnitude of work that needed to be done in the basement to ensure that it was a secure, stable foundation. And once we understood what needed to be done down there, we sort of revised our expectations.”
They’re almost there.
Brewmaster Tom Riley has started trials and expects the facility will produce around a half-dozen or so small batches unique to the site.
Inside, customers will immediately notice the extensive use of locally sourced downed trees — including a massive one from Squamish — as part of the interior.
The big question now is, almost four years after it was shuttered and 18 months and counting of construction, when will customers set foot inside?
“I’m confident in saying we’re closer to the end than the beginning,” says Devlin, acknowledging there could still be hiccups so they won’t name a projected opening date just yet.
“But we hope that we’re in the closing stages and we definitely want to be part of everybody’s summer plans this year.”