I earned my driver’s licence almost 20 years ago, and I recall driving past the Bird of Paradise pub on one of my first joyrides.
Nearly two decades later, I recently found myself driving past the very same establishment. This time, I noticed a sandwich board out front advertising a burger and fries for five bucks and change.
I couldn’t help but to compare this to the myriad other sandwich boards I see while driving through Greater Victoria, which advertise to same meal for the low price of $12.95 -- and they wonder why so many restaurants end up going out of business after six months.
This same pattern can be observed throughout countless retail and service industries all over Greater Victoria: at businesses with reasonable and affordable pricing who have existed for decades and have become fixtures of the Victoria scene.
And in stark contrast, we see businesses with ridiculous pricing who pop up, spend a few months gouging their customers, and then collapse as soon as their novelty factor wears off.
I suppose the long and short of all this is to say that any proprietors operating or launching a business might consider the pub’s example, and I’d like to offer kudos to the countless local establishments who have embraced a business model based on sustainability rather than profiteering.
Scott Johnstone
Saanich