The donut counter that has anchored Granville Island Public Market since 1979 is finally leaving the mainland.
Lee’s Donuts is opening its first Vancouver Island location at 658 View Street, in Victoria’s historic Old Town district.
Signage has gone up at the unit, and the shop is expected to open by the end of the year.
The Honey Dip is going with it.
That is the one Lee’s is known for, and the Victoria shop will carry it alongside the classic yeast and cake donuts the company makes fresh daily.
“This is a major milestone for Lee’s Donuts,” says owner Allan Bacani. “We’ve wanted to come to Victoria for a long time, and we’re excited to finally make it happen.”
The reason this reads as a milestone rather than just another unit is how long the brand stayed put.
Lee’s started as a mom-and-pop shop inside Granville Island Public Market in 1979, opened by Alan and Betty-Ann Lee, and it is still working from recipes the Lee family developed more than 45 years ago.
The Lees are no longer the ones running it. The business has since changed hands, and Bacani is the owner now, though the recipes stayed put.
For most of that run it was one counter in one market, the kind of place people bring visitors to.
The expansion is recent and deliberate.
The company brought on a new president to lead a multi-year growth strategy, and the map has been filling in since, through YVR Airport and a shop in the Thesis development across from Langara College on West 49th Avenue.
Victoria is the first move that crosses water.
“Lee’s Donuts has always been about simple, classic donuts and creating places that feel connected to the community,” Bacani says. “Victoria has an incredible food culture and a real appreciation for local businesses with history. It feels like a natural next step for us.”
Old Town is a deliberate choice for a brand leaning on its own age.
It is Victoria’s heritage core, the stretch of restored brick and cast iron buildings that the city built its tourism identity around, and it puts Lee’s among independent shops rather than in a mall food court.
There is a lot still unannounced.
The company says the menu, the opening date and any grand opening plans will all come closer to launch, so right now the hoarding and the address are the whole story.
For anyone on the Island who has only had a Lee’s donut on a trip to Vancouver, that changes by the end of the year.
Lee’s Victoria joins a run of recent expansion moves for the brand, including the Thesis shop near Langara College and its counter at YVR Airport.
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Address: 658 View Street, Victoria, BC (Old Town)