Never underestimate the power of a community. Most people would see at first glance a quickly deteriorating art-deco building in the heart of a city. This is simply the veneer, the real story lies a little deeper. The real story is about Ian Turner, a man who would enthusiastically greet and interact with pretty much everyone, friend and stranger alike. He cooked with the same passion and it showed. To this day, I consider my cheeseburger experience there to be one of the best I’ve ever had, and from what I can tell I am far from being alone in this sentiment.
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
Somehow through a chain of seemingly random events, we ended up on TV doing an interview for CTV News Vancouver Island. It all started when we joined up with the Facebook group “Ian’s Jubilee Coffee Shop Fanclub” where we’ve been interacting with a great group of folks with a deep connection to this place. Ian Turner touched so many people in so many different ways, it’s really great to be able to share memories and such. One woman even shared that she had her first date with her husband here.
But recently something changed. At some point the building was suddenly roped off and signs erected, and everyone began to speculate as to why. There was a real fear that the final days for the landmark were here, and it was to be demolished soon.
This turned out to not be the case, but the truth is just as startling.
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
With this news came a sense of urgency to return very soon to capture some new photographs of the building in it’s current state, to document the progression of the site as nature continues it’s relentless march towards decay. Mrs. Toad and I wasted no time at all in heading back this past weekend to spend some time with the old building, ironic in the feeling that we were visiting a patient in the hospital.
From the front, we’ve all seen worse that’s for sure. The doorway is well weathered, with peeling paint and great textures. A photographers dream.
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
It’s been well over 10 years now since the corner store has been open. The iconic sign picture we captured last time contrasts against today’s photograph where we find no sign at all. Only the stained outline of where it once sat, a beacon for those who came, each with their own reason. Nurses from Royal Jubilee Hospital would come for a newspaper or a quick walk and a snack before heading back to the unit to carry on. Local residents would come for a container of milk or candy and a pop. Others would come because they were visiting someone at the hospital and they wanted a newspaper or magazine to help pass the time. Everyone left their imprint behind and today it’s this very power that brings everyone together with the common goal of trying to save this storied place.
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada 06
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
And this is where the next sad chapter for the building comes to light. Within the last couple of weeks we had a vicious windstorm here on the island, and it took down one of the back walls of the building with it. These apartments above hold many stories, some of which are truly heartwarming. During a time when single women had trouble renting apartments, the Turner family would do so with joy in their hearts. I am sure many a nurse or nursing student was beyond thankful for the opportunity to have a little place to call home, especially considering the proximity to the hospital right across the street. Today, what once was a great old bathroom with pink tiles and mirrored medicine cabinets is bare to the outside world. A closer look reveals the deeper damage to the building.
Ian’s Coffee Stop – Victoria, BC, Canada
A metaphor for shattered dreams, a window that someone once peered out through in happier times now lies broken and prone on the ground below. The power of nature is evident here, and with it we find a symbol of the state we find the building and it’s story in.
A recent inspection by the city has revealed a series of deficiencies that must be addressed. Understanding the repairs are beyond the means and resources of the family to fix the building, although there is no lack of desire on their part. And that can spell the end for the building if things continue the way they are currently.
We propose to have no real answers to these complex problems and issues, but we are heart-warmed to see the effect the recent events have had on the part of the community with deep ties to this place. I believe it is through our interactions with everyone on the fan club page that we were found by CTV News enabling us to take part in the interview. It’s something I really enjoyed doing, allowing me to be a part of creating a broader awareness for the situation with the hopes of playing a small role in helping this place find the miracle it so truly needs.
Before heading out for the day, we thought we’d visit our old friend, the house that sits right behind Ian’s Coffee Stop. It is owned by the same family that owns the Turner building and we can clearly see it suffers from the same lack of maintenance. We covered this story previously in our post “Higgledy-Piggledy House” where we took a look at the home. Time has done similar damage here.
Higgledy-Piggledy House – Victoria, BC, Canada
Higgledy-Piggledy House – Victoria, BC, Canada
Higgledy-Piggledy House – Victoria, BC, Canada
This back porch has a killer first step. One has to ponder exactly how graffiti artists can get up to perches like this to adorn the building in their personal art-form. These things never cease to make me stop and think. The architecture of the home is full of character, it’s easy to see a family living here when it was in good shape, enjoying a comfortable life in a lovely home. Today we find signs everywhere of people trying to gain access to the house for all sorts of reasons, some of them undoubtedly successfully so.
One of the key driving forces for Mrs. Toad and I here at The Hollow is to try to bring awareness to issues like these, many of which seem to have little public interest in terms of trying to save them. When we first discovered Ian’s Coffee Stop and the Turner building in such poor condition, we shared the story with everyone in our post “A City Landmark Lies Forlorn“. Since then, we’d found so many other people who share our feelings for this place and have heard great stories from all the memories. We can only hope that if enough people get involved, perhaps another chapter in the story could be written. If not, we may have just seen the end.
Be part of the story, anyone who grew up here or is from around here has their own stories and memories of Ian’s Coffee Stop. Please feel free to leave your stories in the comments section as we would love to hear them.
See more photos here:
Ian’s Coffee Stop Gallery – see all 15 new HDR images
Higgledy-Piggledy House Gallery – see all 10 new HDR images
Photo Credits
All photos are © Scott Johnson – All Rights Reserved
First posted at Toad Hollow Photography
Recent Scott Johnson Articles:
- A Settler’s Story
- Sweet Desolation
- The Second Life Of A Rusty Tugboat
- Reaching For The Heavens
- Greet The Morning
Ian’s always brightened my day while undergoing cancer treatments at the Jubilee Hospital in 1999. The cheese burgers were so good, mere words don’t do them justice. The homemade potato salad, fries, milkshakes and pies…..everything was just so delicious. I loved hearing stories about Ian’s and all the people that felt they’d found a home away from home. What a remarkable family buisness.
That movie with Meg Ryan is called The Land of women
I think back fondly of a cheeseburger and chocolate shake at Ians,
It will be a sad day if that building comes down
Thanks Graham, we sure do appreciate you taking the time to visit and leave these comments. As the clock continues to tick, I am beginning to get very worried about the prognosis for the building now. There’s still time for a miracle here, but the clock continues to run out.
I never got to visit Ian’s but have driven by the corner for years pondering on the past, present and future history of the building. Thanks for bringing this issue to light – I will join the Facebook group. I can only hope funding can be found to save the building and create a ‘modern-day’ Ian’s – mmmm – I hope the new owners continue the former traditions of homemade Donuts & cherry ice cream.
And homemade cheeseburgers!! I can darn near taste them sitting here pondering it! What wonderful comments, Heather, thank you so much for taking the time to pop by and for leaving these for everyone to enjoy!
Thanks Scott for the alert to the Facebook group. There’s a wealth of stories and energy in that group. I’m sure that something can be done with all that talent.
This is quite the issue with a lot of underlying complexities, that’s for certain. Thank YOU for getting involved Rey, all hope is far from lost but we are all waiting for a miracle here. We sure do appreciate your visit and your comments here, my friend, thank you!
Scott – what a great article. I drove by the Turner building yesterday. I dream – to this day – about having the money to buy that building and restore it. 20 years ago when I was a patient in the Royal Jubilee, I “escaped” for an hour with a friend and Ian gave me a free ice cream. How could he not? I was in hospital gown and slippers. Yikes!
I got in “trouble” from the nurses upon my return for leaving the hospital grounds. But, that ice cream stands in my memory as the best cone ever!
Christie
What a terrific story, Christie, thank you so much for taking the time to pop by and for sharing this! We are overwhelmed by the feedback we’ve received in regards to this situation and all the wonderful stories we’ve heard. Ian touched so many people and the building stands as a reminder of all this, and I think this makes the notion of losing it all that much harder to accept. We totally understand this is a complex and perhaps rather expensive situation, we just wish we had the resources to pitch in and help somehow. Sharing awareness like this is the first key step, in our humble opinion. Many kind thanks for sharing your thoughts here!!
For many years in the 1980’s I lived in the neighbourhood and would drive by Ian’s Coffee to and from my way to work. I was always intrigued by the hand-painted poster in the window that said “Fresh Donuts.” One day after seeing that sign 100’s of times and feeling the lure of fresh donuts, I finally parked and made my way to the door of the diner.
I hadn’t expected what I found when I opened the door. The place was filled, and everyone, I mean everyone inside was smoking. The cook(s) and waitresses and all the customers had cigarettes hanging from their lips and smoke curling up into the accumulated haze.
All at once the allure of “fresh donuts” vanished. Disappointed and overcome by smoke, I turned and left, never to experience what it was like to sample the home-cooked food that thousands had enjoyed. I learned from one of the wait staff that proximity to the Royal Jubilee, and the Jubilee’s recently established no smoking policy, helped to attract every smoker from the hospital.
This is a building that needs to be preserved. I couldn’t tell from the article whether the Turner family still owns the building. If they do, and they truly do not have the financial means to protect the internal and external integrity of the building, we must find a way to do so. The building cannot remain in the current (and increasing) state of disrepair. How about crowdsourcing a fund to contribute to as much cosmetic upgrading as possible to at least make it something the neighbours would be proud to have in their area.
Thanks for the kind visit, Rey! Indeed, the Turner family does still own the building, and the house behind it, as far as our research indicates. From what we have heard second-hand, the financial resources required to fix the building are just not there. We have seen several local grassroots groups emerge in the past few weeks looking to start a crowdsource fund to address this. Probably one of the best places to stay up to date, and propose any ideas you may have, is the “Ian’s Jubilee Coffee Shop Fanclub” page on Facebook, it’s really really active these days.
Great article and photos Scott! I lived in the neighbourhood in 1972 (at age 11) and used to buy penny candies from Turners all the time.
That same year, when my grandmother was visiting from the U.K. she went into Ian’s Coffee Shop for lunch. Ian asked her what she wanted, and (being typically English) she replied “What I really want, you don’t have on the menu – Liver and Onions”. Ian asked her if she could spare an extra 10 minutes, then he’d “pop out” and get some liver to make her this special request, which is what he did. Amazing service, and pride in a job well done, and my grandmother would continue to tell the story about “That lovely little coffee shop in Victoria” for years after.
Fun Fact: There was a Meg Ryan / Kristin Stewart (pre-Twilight) movie filmed in Victoria in which there is a scene that K.S. drives by Turners at night, and the old neon sign is lit up in all it’s glory… A true Victorian moment!
David
Thank you so much for taking the time to check out our post and for leaving these absolutely terrific comments, David, we sure do appreciate it! One of the best parts, in light of the situation and issues at hand currently, to writing this post is hearing all the stories from folks who have a connection to this place. Victoria’s landmarks seem to be a disappearing treasure in some regards and this connection to the community and the import of the history held in the walls there is something we feel strongly needs to be preserved. We really love your comments, my friend, thank you so much for leaving them!