Esquimalt’s long wait for a pub will soon be over.
With a tax holiday on the horizon, the owners of the Tudor House Liquor Store at the corner of Admirals and Esquimalt roads have committed to building a 500-seat Irish pub and have it up and running by the spring of 2021.
After Esquimalt council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a revitalization tax exemption for the lot at 533 Admirals Rd., the Dumas family posted on Facebook that they are committed to building the project.
“After council’s decision in last night’s meeting, we are very excited to announce that we will be building a 500-seat authentic Irish pub. The pub will include family friendly areas, in order to welcome the entire community,” wrote owners Marta and Bernie Dumas. “If all goes well, opening date will be March 2021 (in time for St. Patrick’s day)!”
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said everyone seems to be excited about the prospect of once again having a pub on the site.
It was home to the 109-year-old Tudor House Pub before it burned to the ground in 2013.
“It doesn’t seem to matter what comes forward [to council], the question always comes: ‘When will we have a pub?’ ” Desjardins said, noting there is a lot of excitement about the Dumas family once again getting into the pub game.
“We’re excited they have put a date down ... the community is ecstatic,” she said.
The pub has been a long time coming. Desjardins said she understands the Dumas family has been sitting on plans for a while until they could get a tax break.
She said the plan appeared to be to establish the liquor store first and hope its success would help fuel the second phase of development — the pub.
Desjardins said because of the increase in property taxes with the new liquor store, that plan was held back.
Cue Esquimalt’s revitalization tax exemption.
The bylaw was created to encourage business owners to beautify the municipality with exterior upgrades and rebuilds, preserve heritage and create a welcoming environment in order to attract new businesses and new residential property owners.
The program offered tax exemptions of up to 10 years — 100 per cent of the increased assessed value in the first five years, 75 per cent in years six through eight and 50 per cent in the last two years.
“The idea was to add more vitality to our streets and more community space,” said Desjardins.
