Beloved, decade-old B.C. coffee shop will soon close after landlord doubles rent
The list of B.C. restaurant closures continues to grow with the sad news that a popular Hide + Seek Coffee location will soon close in Victoria.
The family-run business announced the closure on social media this week, stating that the new landlords for its Oak Bay shop contacted them with some challenging business news.
“We just got a call from our [new] landlords for the Oak Bay shop — six months before we were expecting to start new lease talks — informing us that they are going to almost double our rent,” said Hide + Seek on Instagram. “They said there is no room for negotiation below that mark — real class acts.
“It’s crazy to build something over 10 years and find out over a one-minute phone call that the plug has been pulled.”
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Hide + Seek coffee was founded by the husband-and-wife team of Jessie and Jamie Owens in 2015.
Its two locations at 2207 Oak Bay Ave. and 1839 Fairfield Rd. are beloved by locals and visitors for the selection of coffees, drinks, and homemade treats.
Fans of Hide + Seek coffee shared their outrage over the huge rent increase by the Oak Bay shop’s new landlords online.
Hide + Seek Coffee
“That is highway robbery,” said one commenter on Instagram. “We love and value you in our community.”
“We’re at a point where there needs to be commercial rent control of some kind,” said another on Reddit. “The amount of businesses that have closed in the last year due to rent increases of 30 to 50 per cent is absurd.”
Hide + Seek
Hide + Seek added that its lease is set to expire in July 2026 and that it will be seeking a new space.
“We have all the equipment, so we don’t want it to go to waste,” the coffee shop added on social media. “If you’ve got something, let us know. We would love to be able to still serve this community that we’ve been a part of for 10 years.”
Hide + Seek Coffee will also be expanding into Victoria West this fall, when it opens a location on the ground level of Samuel Flats, a new, purpose-built rental located at 822 Catherine St.
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