When inspired ideas, visionary leadership, and a collaborative community come together, incredible things can happen.
Such is the case in Port Alberni, where the continued growth of The Dock+ regional food hub is a testament to how proactive investment can help transform regional economies. Community came together to celebrate an expansion to the facility in late May, and Trust staff joined Minister Josie Osborne, MP Gord Johns, and other community leaders to witness how an initial concept and investment has blossomed into a thriving centre of collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Originally launched in 2019 with infrastructure and start-up investment from Island Coastal Economic Trust, The Dock+ was developed as a regional food hub that combined leased CFIA-certified processing space for seafood and aquaculture businesses with shared commercial kitchen facilities supporting small-scale food entrepreneurs and product innovation.
Since then, it has become a cornerstone of Port Alberni’s growing food sector, helping businesses scale production, access new markets, and strengthen local supply chains.
The success and variety of the growing small businesses now experimenting with, preparing, and processing delicious local food products at The Dock+ is remarkable. Tofino Hot Sauce Company offers sauces with flavours ranging from hibiscus and tamarind to mango and turmeric. Sutra Foods’ curry simmer sauces are now available in major grocery retailers such as Thrifty Foods and Country Grocer. And Ben and Celia from Forest for Dinner, which the Trust first featured in a story in 2019, are receiving significant media attention for their small-batch products from local foraged wild ingredients.
When the Trust first invested in the project, it recognized its potential to diversify the local economy and create new opportunities for fledgling food entrepreneurs in the region. Today that initial spirit of the project is still alive and gaining momentum.
Organizers highlighted during the event that The Dock+ has outgrown expectations and is now expanding to meet demand. A newly repurposed space is adding another 3,700 square feet of food processing space to the already existing 13,000 square feet of the facility. A new business has already moved in that is a partnership between Nova Harvest and Huu-ay-aht Fisheries LP. Central to the new space is an innovative machine that uses incredibly high-water pressure to shuck oysters and process other seafood to prepare them for market.
The Trust is proud to have been an original investor and partner in the regional food hub for the Alberni Valley, and staff were thrilled to see how the space has evolved and to experience firsthand the continued impact it is having across the region.
To learn more about the origins of The Dock+ and the Trust’s role, please read this Impact Story from 2025.
