The Victoria Pub Company Limited

What The Victoria Pub Company Limited does

The Victoria Pub Company Limited is a privately held, Canadian hospitality company founded in 2008 that owns and operates four distinct pub and restaurant concepts in Victoria, British Columbia: Bard & Banker (a whisky and wine-focused venue with 31 taps, the locally voted #1 scotch list, and a Wine Cave), Irish Times (a traditional Irish pub with 42 taps, the best Irish whiskey list in BC, and over 30 gins), Penny Farthing (a modern British comfort food pub with 38 taps and 23 local craft brews), and Vis a Vis (a French-inspired charcuterie and dining concept in Oak Bay Village). Each location serves the general public and tourist market in Victoria, BC, with live music seven nights a week at the larger venues and differentiated chef-driven menus sourcing local BC ingredients.

Revenue is generated entirely through point-of-sale food and beverage transactions at the four physical venues, with a small additional stream from online gift certificate and reloadable gift card sales processed through the third-party Ackroo platform (vicpubco.ackroo.net). The business is fundamentally a direct-to-consumer, location-based hospitality operator: there is no proprietary technology disclosed beyond standard hospitality POS, no delivery or off-premise channel beyond gift certificates, and no B2B revenue. Pricing is transaction-based, live music and ambiance are bundled into the venue experience, and marketing is conducted organically through individual branded websites and social channels (Facebook, Instagram, TripAdvisor) for each location.

The company has accumulated material brand equity through two high-credibility industry awards — Best Irish Pub in North America 2017 (Irish Pubs Global, awarded to Irish Times) and Wine Spectator Award 2018 (Bard & Banker). The parent does not disclose revenue, headcount, ownership structure, management team, or any external funding, and there are no public signals of geographic expansion, acquisition activity, new product lines, or AI capability. Operations are concentrated entirely in the Victoria, BC market, leaving the company exposed to local tourism cycles and provincial regulatory shifts affecting alcohol service.

Name

The Victoria Pub Company Limited

Legal name

Victoria Pub Company

Website

https://vicpubco.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Victoria Pub Company Limited is a privately held Canadian hospitality company founded in 2008 that owns and operates four distinct pub concepts (Bard & Banker, Irish Times, Penny Farthing, and Vis a Vis) in Victoria, British Columbia, serving local residents and visitors with food, local craft beverages, and live entertainment under branded wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pub and Restaurant Hospitality

NAICS

Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (72241), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Pubs & Gastropubs (CRANACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA), Cocktail Bars & Lounges (CRANACAD)

Keywords

• Pub hospitality
• Craft beer bars
• Live music venues
• Casual dining
• Gift certificates

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling food, alcoholic beverages (craft beer, wine, spirits, cocktails), and non-alcoholic drinks at four pub locations. Transactions occur on-site at point of sale.
2. Gift Certificates: Sale of gift certificates and reloadable gift cards through an online portal (Ackroo platform), redeemable at all four locations. Provides pre-payment for future services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Victoria Pub Company Limited operates four distinct pub concepts in Victoria, British Columbia (Bard & Banker, Irish Times, Penny Farthing, and Vis a Vis), offering dine-in food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages with a focus on local craft beer, and live music entertainment seven nights a week. The company also sells gift certificates redeemable across all four locations through an online portal.

Product overview

The Victoria Pub Company Limited operates a portfolio of four distinct pub brands in Victoria, BC: Bard & Banker (a whisky and wine-focused establishment with live music seven nights a week), Irish Times (an Irish pub and winner of Best Irish Pub in North America 2017), Penny Farthing (a traditional English pub serving modern British comfort food), and Vis a Vis (a French-inspired dining experience with charcuterie and personalized service). All four locations offer local craft beer, premium imports, and distinctive food menus with unique chefs sourcing local ingredients. The company also provides a centralized gift certificate program redeemable across all locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bard & Banker A Victoria pub offering live music seven nights a week, 31 taps featuring local craft brews and premium imports, an extensive whisky list voted #1 in Victoria, and a Wine Cave with hand-picked bottles from around the world. Winner of the 2018 Wine Spectator Award. Serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to walk-in customers.
• Irish Times An Irish pub offering 42 taps including 25 local craft brews, 13 premium imports, ciders, and Prosecco. Features the best Irish Whiskey list in BC and over 30 types of Gin. Winner of Best Irish Pub in North America by Irish Pubs Global in 2017. Serves traditional Irish fare and modern pub fare with live Irish music on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Penny Farthing A traditional English-style pub serving modern British comfort food. Features 38 taps including 23 local craft brews drawn from the top 10 breweries in BC and 8 premium imports. Open daily serving fresh food made using local and seasonal ingredients.
• Vis a Vis

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AckroocoreTechnology or IntegrationAckroo provides the online gift certificate and gift card platform for Victoria Pub Company. Customers can purchase, reload, and check balances for gift certificates redeemable at all four locations through the Ackroo-powered portal.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Cactus Club Cafe: BC-founded premium casual dining chain with significant bar/cocktail revenue. Comparable on premium positioning and bar-led revenue model, though operates at much larger national scale.
• JOEY Restaurants: Canadian premium-casual restaurant and bar chain with locations across BC and beyond. Comparable as a multi-concept Canadian hospitality operator with strong bar/lounge business, though at significantly larger scale.
• Earls Kitchen + Bar: Established Western Canadian full-service restaurant and bar chain with 60+ locations. Comparable as a large-scale Canadian hospitality operator, though broader menu and far larger footprint than VicPubCo's four pubs.

Regional players

• Saveur Restaurants (Bin 4 Burger Lounge, The Living Room): Victoria-based independent restaurant group operating multiple concepts in the local market. Comparable as a multi-concept BC hospitality operator serving similar customer demographics.
• Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. Victoria-based craft brewery with taproom offering food and beverage service. Comparable on the craft beer hospitality angle and operates in the same Victoria market.
• Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub: Long-standing Victoria, BC brewpub combining craft beer production with on-premise food service. Direct geographic peer with overlapping food/craft beer experience, though with stronger brewing/manufacturing angle.

Direct peers

• Browns Socialhouse: Western Canadian casual dining and pub chain operating 50+ locations. Comparable as a multi-unit Canadian pub/restaurant operator with similar food-and-beverage-led model and broad customer appeal.
• The Donnelly Group: BC-based hospitality group operating multiple bar/pub concepts (including New Oxford, The Lamplighter, Public). Direct peer as a multi-concept pub operator in the same regional market with similar venue strategy.

Emerging players

• Vancouver Island Brewing: Victoria-based craft brewery with taproom experience. Regional adjacency to VicPubCo's supply chain and overlapping craft beverage consumer base.
• Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. Victoria-based craft brewery with taproom and retail distribution. Adjacent peer operating in the same local craft beverage ecosystem where VicPubCo sources its tap selections.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/_visavis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/victoria-pub-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Victoria Pub Company Limited