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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 5 N ik W e s t
IT'S NOT HYPERBOLE to say that one day
in 2017 changed a city forever. Amy Ferris
and Adrian Symonds, originally from Win-
nipeg, had been in Vancouver for about a
month. Ferris, a graphic designer and pho-
tographer, and Symonds, a carpenter, were
looking for a change of pace and a locale
closer to the ocean. They planned to settle
in B.C.'s largest city until they didn't.
"We spent a day in Nanaimo and fell
in love," says Ferris. "It was so sleepy and
quiet but it felt like it was on the verge of
something." As the couple was restarting
their lives on the West Coast, they knew
they wanted to do something that would
have an impact. "Food and beverage was
one of the biggest holes we saw—especially
coming from Winnipeg, where the entire
culture and identity is around food."
In 2019, Ferris and Symonds opened
the doors of White Rabbit, a coffee shop in
an old train station. When the pandemic
hit, the pair doubled down on commu-
nity and made the space a hub for the city.
Pre-COVID, the owners had already begun
making White Rabbit a destination for
things like art workshops, shows and
events. "Once COVID hit, we couldn't do
anything so we tried to make the messag-
ing as clear and supportive as possible
and make people feel like we were a safe
choice," Ferris recalls.
AMY IN WONDERLAND
Amy Ferris (pictured) and
Adrian Symonds opened
Nanaimo's White Rabbit coffee
shop (top and right) just before
the COVID pandemic hit British
Columbia. Later, they added the
Black Rabbit to their portfolio
