A new restaurant with a $6 entry fee is set to open on B.C. Ferries’ two Spirit-class vessels, which travel between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, prior to the summer season.
The restaurant, dubbed Seascapes Lounge, replaces the Pacific Buffet, which was closed at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
The new restaurant, which will occupy the Pacific Buffet’s former space, will offer a “quiet, more relaxed setting” with “comfortable seating and refined ambience,” B.C. Ferries announced Monday.
The lounge will provide “a curated selection of food and beverage options, while also reducing congestion in the Coastal Cafe,” it said.
The move follows public surveys last year on what should replace the buffet, which drew 10,000 responses.
“Customers have been clear in their feedback — they want a space that is special and distinct from the other dining areas, offering a quiet and comfortable setting,” said Melanie Lucia, B.C. Ferries’ vice-president of customer experience.
The $6 entry fee would include unlimited coffee, tea and fountain beverages. B.C. Ferries said in a statement.
Along with food, passengers will be able to buy local beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be offered — customers will place orders with the cashier as they enter, and collect their food and drinks.
The menu is being finalized but could include continental breakfast, a meat and cheese plate, sandwiches and salads, rice bowls and desserts, the company said.
Most items will run from $8 or $9 for snacks or desserts and up to $20 for entrees.
Each lounge will have about 200 seats and require three additional positions on each shift.
Some ferry riders mourned the closure of the Pacific Buffet, which B.C. Ferries said lost $1.2 million in its final year of operating, when it was patronized by only nine per cent of passengers on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route.
The new Seascapes restaurant is expected to generate $1.3 million annually for B.C. Ferries.
“As operational costs continue to rise, we need to find new ways to meet customer expectations while ensuring financial stability,” Lucia said.
The lounge is expected to open before summer on the Spirit of British Columbia and the Spirit of Vancouver Island. Minimal renovations are needed on the two vessel, B.C. Ferries said.
Depending on customer response, the Coastal Celebration may open a Seascapes Lounge as well, the company said.
