The familiar blue awning with white lettering on Cornwall Avenue is coming down. After serving crispy fish and chips to locals and tourists for nearly three decades, The Sea House is closing its doors at the end of the month.
For Kitsilano residents like myself, this isn’t just another restaurant turnover. When I stopped by yesterday afternoon, owner Dimitrios Kerasiotis was behind the counter as usual, his hands dusted with flour as he prepared the day’s batter.
“Twenty-eight years is a good run,” he told me with a half-smile that couldn’t quite mask his disappointment. “But the building has been sold, and the new owners have other plans. That’s business in Vancouver these days.”
The Sea House opened in 1996, when Kitsilano was a different neighbourhood altogether. Back then, before property values skyrocketed, Cornwall Avenue featured more family-owned businesses than chain stores. The restaurant quickly became known for its generous portions and consistent quality, particularly their signature halibut and chips.
According to data from the Vancouver Economic Commission, nearly 45 small food establishments have closed in the city since 2022. Rising costs, staff shortages, and redevelopment pressures continue to reshape the city’s culinary landscape.
“When we started, we paid about $2,500 monthly for this space,” Kerasiotis explained, gesturing around the modest dining room with its nautical-themed decor and faded photographs of Greek islands. “The last lease renewal had us at $9,800. Even with loyal customers, the math stopped working.”
The closure affects more than just the owners. Emma Donaldson has worked at The Sea House part-time throughout her undergraduate studies at UBC. “This job helped me pay my tuition,” she said while refilling ketchup bottles. “But more than that, working here felt like being part of a family. Dimitrios and Georgia taught me about work ethic, about treating customers like they matter.”
The restaurant’s closure reflects broader trends affecting Vancouver’s small business community. According to the Vancouver Economic Development Commission’s 2023 report, commercial rent increases have outpaced revenue growth by nearly 15% in popular neighbourhoods.
City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung expressed concern about the trend when contacted for comment. “Every time we lose a longstanding local business, we lose a piece of neighbourhood identity,” she said. “Council is working on a Small Business Retention Strategy, but these changes are happening faster than policy can address.”
For locals like Martin Chen, who’s been coming to The Sea House since his children were small, the closure represents something profound. “My kids learned to love seafood here,” he told me as he waited for his takeout order. “Now they’re in university, and when they come home, this is still where they want to go. We have so many memories tied to this place.”
BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association data shows that independent restaurants operate on increasingly thin margins, typically between 3-5%. With food costs having risen approximately 18% since 2020 according to Statistics Canada, many establishments simply can’t adapt quickly enough.
Georgia Kerasiotis, who handles the books while her husband manages the kitchen, points to another challenge. “The delivery apps take 25-30% commission. We resisted joining them for years, but during COVID, we had no choice. Now customers expect that convenience, but the economics just don’t work for small places like ours.”
The restaurant’s final day will be September 30th. Dimitrios and Georgia plan to take some time off before deciding what comes next. “Maybe we’ll open something smaller,” Dimitrios mused. “Or maybe it’s time to actually use those fishing rods I sell fish beside all day but never get to use myself.”
For regulars, the news has sparked a rush of last visits. The restaurant has been busier than usual, with waiting times stretching to 45 minutes during dinner service. Last weekend, a line formed outside before they even opened—something that hadn’t happened since their early years.
“I’ve had customers come in with tears in their eyes,” Georgia said. “One woman brought her daughter’s graduation photo to show us because they celebrated here. Another man told us he proposed to his wife at that corner table in 1998.”
The Sea House isn’t the first beloved Kitsilano establishment to close, and it certainly won’t be the last. Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe, another neighbourhood institution, closed in 2021 after 33 years. Nearby, several other family-owned businesses display “For Lease” signs in their windows.
What replaces these community touchstones remains to be seen. According to the latest commercial real estate trends, many retail spaces are being converted to service-based businesses or high-end chain outlets that can better absorb the escalating rents.
“I worry we’re losing the places that give Vancouver its character,” said Chen, echoing a sentiment many locals share. “These restaurants are where neighbours become friends, where you celebrate life’s moments. You can’t replace that with another cell phone store.”
As I left The Sea House, Dimitrios was teaching a young employee how to properly coat the fish. “Not too thick, not too thin,” he instructed, his hands moving with the practiced precision of someone who has performed this task thousands of times. It was a small moment of knowledge transfer that soon will belong only to memory.
If you want to say goodbye to this Kitsilano institution, you have until the end of the month. Just be prepared for a wait—and perhaps a few tears with your tartar sauce.
