When he was alive, Ken Agate was well-known for his love of cars and people. He is best remembered for starting the Oak Bay Collector Car Festival and as the colourful proprietor of the Blethering Place restaurant.

Born 1944, in Suva, Fiji, Ken grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. There he ran a hair salon and bred and trained German shepherds.
He fell in love with Victoria after a visit, moving here in 1979.
Unemployed, he came upon a vacant retail space on Oak Bay Avenue.
Despite having no experience in the hospitality industry, he somehow came to the conclusion that the location was ideal for a restaurant.
He named it the Blethering Place (to blether is to talk in a long-winded way) Tea Room because he envisioned it as a place where the neighbourhood could gather and enjoy a good conversation.
“It was a popular meeting place over the years, where people and groups of people would come for their meetings, celebrations and occasions,” said Vic Smith, a longtime friend. “Ken being Ken, his patrons soon became his friends.”
He ran the restaurant from 1979 until 2011.
Ken was never far, as he lived in an apartment above. More than once, he would come downstairs to grab a cup of coffee in his pyjamas and slippers, staying to say hello and chatting with bemused customers.
The restaurant also exemplified his connection to those less fortunate.
“He had a big heart,” said Joan Stein, his close friend and manager. “Every year he would put on a Christmas dinner, which would serve a free turkey meal to up to 600 people over six hours. That tradition started in 1995 and continued until the restaurant closed in 2011.”

His other passion was vintage and collectible vehicles and his pride and joy was a green 1938 Dodge Deluxe Touring Sedan.
He had the vehicle when he was still living in New Zealand and had it shipped here when he emigrated to Canada.
When he started the Oak Bay Collector Car Festival in 1999, his Dodge was proudly used in the logo.
In recognition for his many contributions and involvement in the community, Ken was recognized by the District of Oak Bay with the municipality’s first Oak Leaf Award in 2014.
He died of cancer, Sept. 11, 2023 at the age of 79.