Your City Hall is Bringing Back Arcades and Ice Cream
Good morning from the island — we're still here, the orcas were spotted at Active Pass, and honestly, life is fine.
Well, here's the thing about what's been happening at City Hall, according to the latest batch of business licences and building permits. It seems Victoria is leaning into a particular kind of charm lately. We're talking ice cream and arcades.
Two new licences, numbers 40784 and 40447, were issued to HAZELS ICE CREAM LTD, both for bicycle vendors operating as mobile businesses. It does make one wonder, doesn't it, if we'll start seeing a quiet parade of these sweet treats making their way down the Dallas Road waterfront or perhaps through the lanes of James Bay. A mobile ice cream vendor on a warm day? It just feels right.
Then there's Arcadia, an entertainment amusement centre, which just received licence 48095 for its location at 707 Johnson Street. An arcade, you say? It’s not quite a return to the glory days of the coin-op wonders of our youth, but it certainly adds a different kind of buzz to the Johnson Street corridor. What kind of amusement, exactly, remains to be seen, but the idea of a new space dedicated to pure entertainment is certainly intriguing for a city that sometimes prides itself on its quietude.
* **Hazels Ice Cream Ltd:** Two mobile bicycle vendor licences issued.
* **Arcadia:** New amusement centre at 707 Johnson St.
* **Downtown Veterinary Clinic:** Professional services at 736 Caledonia Ave.
* **Island Key Computer Ltd:** Computer services at 495 Superior St.
It suggests, doesn't it, that while we're busy admiring the rhododendrons in Beacon Hill Park, there's a gentle shift towards more accessible, perhaps even nostalgic, forms of recreation appearing on our streets. What this means for the vibe of downtown Victoria, well, we'll certainly be keeping an eye on it.
Agnes Szymanski, MiTL Sports Desk, Victoria.
You can hear more of my ramblings every morning on the Morning Wire — mornings.live.