Duncan Garage History

Duncan Garage Cafe Building Downtown Duncan Coffee Shop

There's a lot of history packed into these bricks!

Before it was home to warm bread, good coffee, and neighbourhood conversation, this building had another kind of energy: the hum of engines, the smell of grease, and the whirr of an air-powered lift (invented in-house, no less).

The Beginning of a Legacy

The Duncan Garage Building first opened in 1913, right here at 330 Duncan Street. It was built by Norman Corfield, one of seven sons from a local dairy farming family who helped shape the early Cowichan Valley. In 1911, at just 24 years old, Norman became the first person to drive a car over the Malahat — a route previously only travelled by horse. That same bold spirit drove the creation of what would become one of the most complete garages on Vancouver Island.

A Hub of Innovation

For 70 years, Duncan Garage sold everything from Tudhopes to Fords, operated the region’s first ambulance and hearse, and even ran a 7-passenger stagecoach line to Victoria. There was a full-service mechanic shop, a school bus, and a fire truck no one else could drive but Norman himself.

By the 1950s, the Duncan Garage had grown into one of the largest automotive operations on Vancouver Island, with locations from Victoria to Campbell River. But by the early ‘80s, the gas crunch and economic shifts took their toll. The Garage closed its doors in 1983, leaving behind a legacy that still lives in the bones of this building.

The space shifted hands and purposes from the 80s through to the 2000s, serving as a window shop, then as an art studio. Eventually, a new kind of energy began to fill it: coffee, conversation, and community.

The Next Era of the Garage

Back in 2002, Susan Minette was running a small organic café in Glenora, tucked inside the old farm store. A decade later, in 2012, that café found a new home in the Duncan Garage building. She named it the Corfield Café in honour of Norman Corfield, but locals quickly gave it a simpler nickname: “the Garage Café.” The name stuck, and so did the sense of belonging it inspired.

In 2024, the café was purchased by Matt, Casey, and Brennan - a new team carrying on the spirit of community, creativity, and real, nourishing food in this old building with deep roots.

The Garage Today

In 2025, Matt, Casey, Brennan, and Emery purchased the Garage building, ready to carry its legacy forward with fresh energy and care.

More than a century since the first bricks were laid, the Duncan Garage is still a place where people gather, create, and connect. The tools have changed, but the heart of the place is the same.

We’re proud to call it home.