About the author: Lauren Semple (she/they) is a strategist, storyteller, lover of leisure, and the voice behind the queer travel blog, Sounds Gay Let’s Go.
You’ve heard about Nanaimo’s famous sprawl, but that just means there’s more to explore! Our city is home to a tapestry of distinctive neighbourhoods, each with its own unique spirit and local character.
Our new blog series, Meet the Neighbours, is your guide to discovering those hidden spaces and the local faces who hold a torch for them. This series tells the continuous story of the passionate people and deep connections that define our city.
From long-time anchors to tireless advocates, follow along as we share authentic stories of resilience and community from across all of Nanaimo’s unique areas. Come for the sprawl, stay for the people!
Meet Sonia Malek-Komen
For over two decades, Sonia Malek-Komen has been the loyal heart of downtown Nanaimo, a fixture in the entertainment and hospitality communities. When Sonia talks about how long she’s lived in Nanaimo, she doesn’t start with dates; she starts with counting her kids. “Twenty-four years. Holy cow,” she says, laughing as she works backward through the years. She still instinctively tells people she’s from Vancouver, but then catches herself: “That’s half my life ago, I don’t think I can say that anymore.”
Because the truth is, downtown Nanaimo has shaped her as much as she’s shaped it. She has lived downtown from the moment she arrived in Nanaimo. “Always downtown. One hundred percent.” It’s where she raised her family, built her career, found her people, and eventually opened the Nanaimo Bar, which has become one of the city’s most beloved spaces for live music and libations. To understand Sonia’s passion, you have to understand her neighbourhood. And her neighbourhood is downtown Nanaimo.
Photo of Sonia Malek-Komen, a woman with dark, curly hair and medium skin tone, smiling and standing behind a bar, while pouring a drink on the counter. She is wearing a black hoodie with ‘The Nanaimo Bar’ logo, and the background features well-stocked liquor shelves and holiday decorations.
Community Is At The Heart Of Everything
For Sonia, the draw of downtown was immediate. “It’s the only place to go out in Nanaimo, really, and the community is incredible.” Even when the downtown she moved into was smaller and scrappier, pieced together from small shops, theatres, and heritage buildings, it felt vibrant. “Even when it was just bookstores, record shops and a couple of dive bars, it was thriving. Even busier then, almost.” The waterfront was a magnet, the arts community was electric, and downtown felt alive.
Sonia has worked in the industry since she was nineteen, joking, “I got hired to pay off my bar tab.” Vancouver bars turned into Nanaimo bars, including the Cambie (now the Terminal), the Queens, the Oxy, and the Corner Lounge. Each one gave her the skills she eventually poured into her own business.
Five years after arriving in Nanaimo, though, Sonia found herself facing every parent’s nightmare: her infant son, Dexter, was diagnosed with cancer. She was a young mom, still new-ish to the city. One night, the Queens Hotel, where she was working at the time, held a fundraiser for her family. “That was my first experience of the community really coming together,” she says quietly. “I hadn’t even lived here that long… and the support, the love, that was the downtown family way.” This overwhelming show of support is an important point on Sonia’s timeline, defining how she shows up for others now: compassionately, instinctively, without hesitation. If you know Sonia, you know this is true: she never stops giving back because the community never stopped giving to her.
Photo of three women sitting together at an outdoor table during a street festival. On the left is Sonia Malek-Komen, sticking her tongue out at the woman in the centre, her daughter, who is wearing a brown baseball cap, a striped shirt, and a bright smile. On the right, a third woman with long brown hair and dark sunglasses is looking directly at the camera. The background is busy with market tents, crowds, and a storefront that reads “Cafe.”
Music is Good for the Soul
When it came time to open her own space, the Nanaimo Bar, that support network was there again. Friends, family and fans of Sonia’s stepped up to support the venture and the work behind it. And 10 years later, there have been a few changes in the space, but the core principles have remained the same. Starting with people before screens: “No TVs. People are already on their phones enough, and I want to encourage interaction.” She prioritized consistency, ensuring the doors were open reliably: “I’m open 4 to 1:30 am every day. Everybody knows they can get a drink.” Most importantly, music is always playing in the space, 24/7. Sonia actually leaves the music on all night because “it’s good for the soul of the bar.”
If downtown Nanaimo has a heartbeat, Sonia will tell you it’s music. “I love live music.” She’s already booked six months out in the summer, hosting every genre except country (hey, her bar her rules). She has championed everything from disco to jazz trios to bagpipe rock bands, including her son’s tribute band, the Dextones, and a personal favourite – a Beatles cover duo called the Eggmen.
Sonia is one of the most supportive bookers on the island. She doesn’t just hire acts; she actively advocates for more live music at more venues and helps artists and entrepreneurs get started. She has a deep conviction about music’s essential place in our lives, passionately stating, “Music is good for the soul. So why wouldn’t it be good for the city’s soul? Imagine if music was spilling out everywhere.” This belief is why she champions outdoor music in urban spaces and works year-round to nurture the dynamic music culture inside the Nanaimo Bar.
In two decades, Sonia has watched downtown transform with new bike lanes, rebuilt streets, the convention centre, and the demolition of old buildings. For her, the change has been accompanied by progress. “It feels more inclusive now. Like, there’s more space for different people. Nanaimo is growing.” She was blown away when Pride parades and crosswalks made their way into her neighbourhood, “One rainbow crosswalk, then two… then four… finally the whole intersection.” For her, those symbols of inclusion matter. They tell a story about who downtown is for, and who it wants to welcome.
Photo of Sonia Malek-Komen seated at a restaurant table, laughing while holding chopsticks. She has her dark curly hair pulled back and is wearing a denim jacket and a white shirt. The table is laden with elaborate plates of sushi and sashimi, including rolls arranged on a wooden board and a large plate of sashimi salad on a tiered glass stand.
Nanaimo’s Downtown is Nothing to Fear
Sonia does not mince words about the fear-mongering that often circulates online. “People say downtown is unsafe, it’s dirty, that you’ll get jumped or your car broken into. That needs to just [stop].” She knows downtown’s cast of characters personally and calls them by name. There’s F, who sings to himself on Front Street. G, who pushes a cart and broom as he cleans up the city. And M, who walks 5 to 8 km a day cleaning graffiti, a task he says he does with pride. This fall, Sonia has been gathering clothing, blankets, and community donations for him, trying to help him find stable housing. When she posted about him online, folks from across the city responded. “The whole town came forward to support.” This is Sonia’s downtown: not dangerous, but deeply human.
Our conversation turns to the future, and Sonia’s eyes light up with a mix of optimism and fiery determination. When asked what she wants to see for downtown going forward, there’s no hesitation. “Less empty space,” “More businesses downtown,” and “More people living downtown.” She believes growth and a busy downtown help everyone. Sonia adds that it would have terrified her 10 years ago to give advice, but now she knows exactly what to say to new entrepreneurs looking to open up in Nanaimo’s urban centre: “Don’t give up.” “It’s hard, it’s trying, it’s taxing, yes, but if you need help, you just have to ask.” Community, she says, is not transactional, but reciprocal in its own way. “It ebbs and flows. You help people, they help you, but not always at the same time. That’s how community works.”
Sonia’s story is not just about her bar. It’s about the people who have walked through the doors, the musicians she’s invited to the stage, the neighbours she’s helped, and the fierce, stubborn belief she holds that downtown Nanaimo is worth fighting for. “It’s a small business, but a big community.” She smiles that classic Sonia-smile, knowing exactly what that means. She helped build both.
