The Rod and Gun’s well-known café officially got a new name on June 30.
Now called 1898 Bistro, the cafe has updated it’s decor and menu items.
Rather than impose his own vision for the new moniker, Kevin Hitch, the general manager of the landmark establishment in the heart of Parksville decided to rely on the regular customers to come up with the name and so held a contest to come up with a new name.
Several submissions rolled in and, after the judges hemmed and hawed a little bit, the winner was declared to be Mark Tapper of Comox.
His wife Pat said Mark thought the old photographs on the walls of the restaurant were interesting and he noticed that one indicated the building was constructed in 1898.
At that point the name just came to him.
Mark wasn’t at the official re-launch of the cafe. He would have liked to, but he was courtside, watching tennis at Wimbledon in England.
However, he was well represented at the ceremony, as his wife, and a group of friends from Nanoose Bay were at the cafe on June 30 to celebrate the occasion.