Historic home serves up tasty new venture
Point Ellice House dining room offering breakfast, lunch and tea
Historic Point Ellice House in Victoria hopes to bump up its bottom line and profile by opening a dining room today.
“Rising costs for maintenance, collections care and utilities have required the putting-on of business thinking caps,” said Gail Simpson, a board member at the non-profit Point Ellice Preservation Society, operator of the provincially owned property.
The 1861 home and garden at 2616 Pleasant St., off Bay Street, is a National Historic Site. Peter O’Reilly, B.C.’s chief gold commissioner and a prominent Victoria citizen, and his family lived in the onestorey cottage-style home facing the Gorge Waterway.
Highlights are the home’s gingerbread-style detailing and historic gardens, cared for by volunteers.
The house itself is the museum. It’s more than a representation of how people lived a century ago.
When the house was sold to the province in 1975, after three generations of O’Reillys had lived there, the family left behind everything — armoires, tea services, a harp, clothing, writing desks, board games and kitchen utensils — one of North America’s largest collections of Victoriana in its original Victorian home.
Adult admission to the museum is $6, though the gardens are free to visit.
But visitor numbers are low. Fewer than 6,000 visit the house every year, Simpson said.
It’s tucked away in an industrial area, in what once was a posh part of the city. But the modern world drops away when visitors arrive at the secluded site, where lush gardens surround the cottage. The original carriage house also remains.
The new menu at Point Ellice House will include lunch dishes priced between $10 and $15, using herbs and vegetables from the gardens, Simpson said.
Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea are being served in the new dining room, called O’Reillys.
It will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday to Monday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Tea will be served after 2:30 p.m.
The dining room is in a building constructed in the 1990s as a visitor centre. Designed to replicate the original barn on the property, the building has about 30 seats.
If the endeavour is financially successful, the restaurant will be open year-round, Simpson said.
A staff of seven will be on duty this summer. The society is supported by about 50 volunteers.
Tourism consultant Frank Bourree called the dining-room service an innovative way to raise some money.
“Maintaining these heritage properties is increasingly challenging.”
He recommends the society become more active with Tourism Victoria and increase its presence on social media.
The museum is an interesting place to visit and fits with tourists’ desire for experiences during a visit to Victoria, Bourree said.
For more information, go to facebook.com/ Point Ellice House or pointellicehouse.ca.