Man behind dance landmark was soul of Cordova Bay
Eric McMorran, the man behind the landmark McMorran’s restaurant for decades and a passionate booster of the Cordova Bay community, has died at age 89.
His family said he died peacefully on Oct. 11 at the Lodge at Broadmead.
“He was a nice guy, no doubt about that,” said Richard, one of four Victoria-born McMorran brothers, including Eric.
“He was very wellknown. He just cared about Cordova Bay and he loved the Saturday night dances down there at McMorran’s and that whole complex.”
George McMorran, Eric’s father, started the business in the 1920s, initially selling ice cream to beach campers. McMorran’s closed in 2010, then reopened in 2012 as the Beach House under new owner Kate Phoenix.
“The McMorran family was one of the pioneers of Cordova Bay,” Richard said. “A lot of people associate Cordova Bay and McMorran’s together.”
Frank Leonard, who came to Saanich as a teenager and spent 28 years as a mayor and councillor in the municipality, said Eric was one of those special people who had a real impact on others.
“He was Cordova Bay’s character. Everybody knew Eric, good old Eric.”
Richard said that in his later years, Eric was known for being outside McMorran’s directing traffic during events.
“He’d go out, put his vest on and help people park.”
Phoenix said she is frequently reminded of Eric’s roadside presence. “To this day, I get people weekly asking me when I’m going to put on my traffic vest and direct traffic like Mr. McMorran,” she said. “But I think they all would find my performance sadly lacking.”
Phoenix said Eric is a tough act to follow. “He set the bar very high for customer service, so we’re trying to keep up to what he set as a standard.”
She said Eric was supportive as she was getting the Beach House going.
Leonard said his memories of McMorran’s go back to his first days in Saanich. “My family moved here in ’69, but even then everybody knew McMorran’s,” he said. “Certainly before my political days, Eric was iconic.”
During his years as mayor, Leonard said, he had occasion to deal with Eric about issues on which they didn’t see eye-to-eye.
“His criticism was so pleasant,” Leonard said with a laugh. “It was wonderful.”
McMorran’s “was a great place to book for campaign events,” Leonard said. “When I ran for MLA, I launched my campaign there in ’95. If you wanted to do something ‘Saanich,’ McMorran’s was something that people would think was appropriate.”
One of the many musicians who frequented McMorran’s was Kryn Zedel, a baritone saxophonist with groups like the Bayside Big Band. Eric gave big-band music a venue, Zedel said.
“He kept it alive for the longest time,” he said. “It was a tradition there at McMorran’s, dancing on the beach.”
Zedel said Eric enjoyed being part of the entertainment.
“He would basically host the dances.”
One thing he would do as host was alter the names of the songs being played, Zedel said.
“He always had us do the Back Bay Shuffle, it’s a bigband classic, and then he would call that the Cordova Bay Shuffle.”
Zedel said Eric was involved in everything else that went on, as well.
“He made sure people were seated comfortably and he knew everybody’s name, he greeted everyone. It was his show, he really enjoyed it.”