On a rainy weekday in March, Ucluelet Brewing is a noisy, potent image of the town’s renewal.
A decade ago, the building was an abandoned church on the main strip, a periodic sight in a small logging and fishing community on the west coast of Vancouver Island that saw its population ebb and flow around 1,500 people for 30 years.
But the church was bought and renovated. What were once empty pews are now packed barstools. Some of the people here for a pint and live music are tourists, but many are residents in a town that’s seen its population increase
