– by Linda Hunter –
When asked why the restaurant business, Donna replies “after 40 years, it’s what we know.” The popular owners of Sidney’s Beacon Landing Restaurant and Lounge, Donna and Bill Phillips, have been involved in the industry for decades and combining Donna’s background in interior design and Bill’s chartered accounting expertise has been a recipe for success.
While Bill’s first love is accounting, he made his foray into hospitality when he built the Bedford House Restaurant in Fort Langley in 1974, where he later met Donna. Settling on Vancouver Island, the two later built or rebuilt some of the Island favourites including B.C.’s oldest pub, the Six Mile; the Cowichan Valley Inn, the Charles Dickens Pub at the Fairmont Empress Hotel; and then, most recently, the Beacon Landing , where at age 65, Bill signed a 30-year lease. As Donna says: “with this waterfront view, we had to do it and age doesn’t mean anything in Sidney!”
“Beacon Landing is a great place to work; on the water and with great owners,” says the Landing’s Gold Seal certified Chef who, along with a winning team, is proud to be dishing up fresh, creative, sustainable, and primarily locally-sourced food.
Serving over 50,000 customers in 2013, Miguel Goncalves prides himself on successfully adapting and improving the menu over time. Miguel’s menu is 99% gluten free, includes a new British-style senior menu with smaller portions, healthy fare for children, and extensive vegetarian options. His playful attitude toward cuisine includes healthy, fun food, with almost everything made in house. Preferring to anticipate expectations rather than manage them, Miguel’s team is consistently changing while maintaining what the regulars love about their local favourite restaurant, including his special menu features: Grilled Quadra Island Scallops with Bacon Risotto, Prawn and Scallops with house-made Gnocchi, and an off-the-chart seaside chowder that he believes “is the best one around.”
With a main street location and spectacular water views, the restaurant has it all; an 85-seat family friendly restaurant, a 125-seat fully-licensed lounge, and a spacious outdoor patio, along with an address at the water’s edge. Living in Sidney, only steps away from the restaurant, Donna happily admits: “I can’t walk anywhere without seeing someone I know; we belong here.”
When asked what’s changed in a decade, the Phillips agree: “it’s so much busier now down at this end of town, with the waterfront walkway, the Pier Hotel, the aquarium, and there’s lots of marine activity too.” Stepping into their 11th year, what does the future hold? “Much of the same; there is nothing we would rather be doing, so we’ll stay doing this for as long as we can, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”
Visit www.beaconlanding.ca for details.
