“The old story says that Greenpeace actually started in a corner of the Naam. … I wonder where table 19 might be right now.” — ” Jacob Beauregard, weekend manager at the Naam.
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One of Vancouver’s oldest and most iconic vegetarian restaurants is for sale and is listed online as a “future redevelopment property.”
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The Naam restaurant, along with the land and building on West 4th Ave., which includes a two-bedroom suite above the restaurant, is listing for sale at just under $8 million.
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The Naam opened in 1968 and was originally a popular meeting place for anti-war advocates, environmentalists and other counter-cultural groups. Located in the heart of what was then known as “Rainbow Road”, it has been serving vegetarian meals for over 50 years.
“The old story is that Greenpeace actually started in a corner of the Naam,” said Jacob Beauregard, the Naam’s weekend manager. He said the group reportedly planned their first campaign at the restaurant.
“I think about where table 19 might be right now,” he said.
Marie Bohlen, an American illustrator living in Vancouver, suggested what would become the Geenpeace book. first campaign in February 1970. He proposed sailing a ship north to a US nuclear test site in Alaska.
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Beauregard said the current owners, who have run the Naam since the early 1970s, were now in their 70s and looking to retire.
“From what I understand, their kids are doing completely different things, professionally,” Beauregard said. “No one really wants to take over (the restaurant).”
Beauregard, who has worked at the Naam since around 2015, said staff were anxious and sad after learning in late August that the restaurant was for sale. Many have worked at the restaurant for years, including one woman who is now in her 70s.
“They know the place very well,” Beauregard said. “They, frankly, deserve a lot of respect. And they’re anxious about having to start in a new place where they don’t get the respect they’re used to.”
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“Naam has given me many opportunities in life,” added Beauregard. “I am about to graduate and would never have started school without Naam.”
The real estate listing advertises the property as a “future redevelopment property,” but also highlights the “high-profile” restaurant downstairs, which the listing says earns more than $1.5 million a year.
Beauregard said he didn’t know what would happen if the restaurant had to move, but said he felt Naam has “a certain recipe for success” that sets it apart from other vegetarian restaurants.
“We still do everything from scratch,” he said. “We really focus on quality sourcing.”
He said the building itself was also a big part of the restaurant’s success.
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“Some of this furniture has been here since the evaders built it,” he said. “This building has old glassware, it’s very unique.”
According to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, the building that houses the Naam was built in 1920. The building’s exterior has remained largely unchanged since it was first built.
A dry goods store was the first tenant of the building, followed by a bakery in the 1930s. A laundromat opened in the 1950s, followed by the Love Cafe until 1968, when Naam opened.
The Naam is the only remaining original natural food business from the 1960s in Kitsilano, according to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.
It does not accept reservations, but operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
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