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Downtown Victoria retail shuffles a reminder of Capital's entrepreneurial spirit

A dish from food truck operator Burger Crush, which is opening a brick-and-mortar location along the 700-block of Fort Street recently vacated by Tacofino.  Burger Crush 

Downtown Victoria retail shuffles a reminder of Capital's entrepreneurial spirit
MIKE KOZAKOWSKI, CITIFIED.CA
A retail switch-up in downtown Victoria will see a popular food truck operator move into the brick-and-mortar realm as a long-time eatery transitions into larger digs.
 
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Burger Crush, known for its fast food-style gourmet burgers, has staged a food truck on Cook Street at Pandora Avenue since 2019 and is now on the cusp of opening its doors along the 700-block of Fort Street in a retail space formerly home to Tacofino.
 
Tacofino, meanwhile, has reopened in the ground floor of an office tower one block from Victoria City Hall where Dobosala Cantina, a take-out spot which gained notoriety for being home to Victoria’s first bicycle drive-thru window, closed earlier this year in the 700-block of Pandora Avenue.
 

Nathaniel Simpson of commercial real-estate brokerage CBRE, who brokered the lease-up and asset acquisition for Burger Crush, says positive retail news at the hands of small operators investing in the local economy goes a long way to building momentum during the pandemic.
 
“These smaller format retail operations are the lifeblood of the downtown economy, and even with the temporary reduction in on-site workers during COVID, a growing population in downtown Victoria is helping sustain our many local businesses,” Simpson said. 
 
“And fundamentally, the main message for our community to keep in mind is that our current situation is not permanent, and we will come back from this. Local business owners are betting on our economy recovering next year, and these examples of a start-up business like Burger Crush emerging onto the retail scene while an established business like Tacofino expanding are a testament to Victoria’s entrepreneurial spirit even during uncertain times.”
 
Other movers and shakers in the downtown retail scene include a new location for the Bubby's chain of bakeries (the former David's Tea spot on Johnson Street at Government Street) and the transformation of Willie's Bakery on lower Johnson Street into an LGBTQ2+ lounge called Friends of Dorothy. 
 
Despite COVID-19-related restrictions on gatherings and social distancing measures, parking uptake in downtown Victoria is showing signs of a slow and steady resurgence, albeit usage levels compared to this period last year remain suppressed. On the flip-side, the situation means plenty of parking capacity is available which has been a boon of sorts for impromptu visits to downtown businesses in the early days of the Holiday Season.
 
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