A weathered rowboat nearly a century old hangs from the wall in the new Moka House coffee shop in Cadboro Bay Village.
It was donated by a local resident and provides both a nautical touch and fitting welcome to Will and Stacey Sparling, who are filling the void after Starbucks abruptly closed last fall and left the quaint seaside commercial district without one of its main gathering places.
“We’re very pleased to have them here … it’s where so many of us meet every day,” said Eric Dahli, chairman of the Cadboro Bay Residents Association. “A lot of our executive members go there and people stop at our table and bring up their issues. When Starbucks closed, we only had the pub to gather. Now we have a good local company joining our village.”
The Sparlings expect to open any day, awaiting final paperwork to clear through Saanich. The couple have been busy “de-Starbucking” the space for several months, have hired new staff and completed training, and are fine-tuning a menu that will include takeaway snacks and sandwiches for picnics on the nearby beach.
Will Sparling said the Cadboro Bay location is a perfect spot to replicate what the couple have in their Moka House in Cook Street Village. That location is extremely popular with area residents as well as others visiting Beacon Hill Park or shopping on Cook Street. On most days, the patios are overflowing — living up to its official name Moka House Coffee + Community.
“We saw the same sort of vibe in Cadboro Bay,” said Will Sparling. “It has a real community and neighbourhood feel and there was a call for that need for a social hub.”
Sparling said the couple had no desire to expand outside Cook Street, but admitted that when Starbucks uprooted in Cadboro Bay it was “the one place in all of Greater Victoria where we really wanted to expand.”
“We thought it was a golden opportunity to do what we do on Cook Street,” said Sparling.
Starbucks has shuttered about 200 locations across Canada as part of massive restructuring of its North American operations. Several locations in Greater Victoria were closed or consolidated with others.
The Cadboro Bay location closed in October and was a major hit to the community, said Dahli. He was so pleased about the Sparlings opening a Moka House at the location that he introduced Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes to the Sparlings and the new location.
“Our village is all about being local and buying local,” said Dahli. “Moka House has a great reputation for being that.”
Dahli said the village has about 15 businesses, including a pub, pharmacy, grocery store and several restaurants, that keep residents close to home and capture a “neighbourhood feel.”
The Sparlings say they are happy to be part of it.
They were initially part of a Moka House franchise that at one time included four Victoria locations and two in Vancouver. They acquired the Cook Street location five years ago, and then bought out the franchise to dissolve it.
The Cadboro Bay location measures about 1,600 square feet, with pre-COVID seating for about 40 inside and 40 on the patio. Pandemic protocols will be in effect on opening.
dkloster@timescolonist.com