Beacon Drive In

The Beacon Drive In is a restaurant in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. According to the company, it has served the best ice cream in Victoria for 28 years.

History
Originally established in 1958 by Bill Pistol and Bob Macmillan who built the drive-in on what had been, since 1914, a private house. Although it started as a drive in with an interior dining area, the drive in was replaced with windows at which an order could be placed and food taken to the car.

Located at 126 Douglas Street, the Beacon Drive In is directly across from the 75 ha Beacon Hill Park, which does not allow food to be sold within the park grounds. Thar made the restaurant popular with the parks patrons, with milkshakes and soft serve ice cream becoming particular favourites.

The Beacon Drive In was owed by Harry Douglas who, in 1963, turned it over to his son Jim. According to the restaurant, Jim Douglas followed two mottoes: "the customer always comes first" and "we don’t change."

Today
In 2005, the current owners, Calgarians Gus and Peter Loubardeas (father and son), bought the restaurant and vowed to keep it the same. The restaurant has since made few changes despite having been open for more than 60 years. Some renovations, including outdoor heating, an awning, repainting in new colours, and updates to the kitchen have been made, but overall, the facility has not changed. According to Peter "our top 10 selling items have been the same for past 40 years!"

Today the restaurant has a full menu, and it is claimed that "...the home-cooked breakfasts are still the best and cheapest in town."

Mascot
Beacon Bill has served as both the mascot and logo since 1978. Conceived and drawn by Bill Hitchcox, an artist from the local community, Beacon Bill is an anthropomorphized gull in a raincoat carrying a life preserver. The mascot/logo was requested by the printer that produced the menus.