After providing Vancouver with more than three-and-a-half decades of award-winning Pacific Northwest cuisine, Kitsilano culinary institution Bishop’s Restaurant announced today that it’s celebrated 36-year run has sadly come to an end.
“After nearly two years of Covid uncertainty we thought we had made it, but a new landlord and a whopping rent increase made it impossible to continue,” said founder John Bishop in today's announcement. “It turns out Vancouver isn’t just an expensive place to live, it’s also an incredibly expensive place to do business. Every restaurant and neighbourhood business knows that first-hand. With the help of our staff and customers, we made it through the worst of the pandemic, but a hefty rent increase, particularly these days, made it impossible to think about continuing.”
Despite lamenting the loss of his beloved 4th Avenue eatery, Bishop has emphasised that he’s also celebrating the restaurant’s remarkable success thanks to the patronage and support of restaurant regulars, staff, and the B.C. food community at large.
“Regulars are everything in the restaurant business, and we had some of the most loyal customers in the province,” explained Bishop. “We were not just a place to come for a special occasion, we had locals drop in throughout the week because they knew us and we knew them. I can’t say enough about our wonderful customers and also our terrific staff who made Bishop’s such a success for so many years.”
Bishop’s Restaurant has contracted Able Auctions to liquidate the entire contents of the restaurant on January 22 at 9:30 a.m. A preview of the auction will take place at Bishop’s on January 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
