Longtime owner of well-known White Rock restaurant dies from COVID-19

The owner of a well-known restaurant in White Rock has died after a long battle with COVID-19.

John Carroll, the owner of the waterfront restaurant Charlie Don’t Surf, died Thursday.

The restaurant posted on Facebook that it “lost a mentor, and the world lost a White Rock legend.”

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Carroll started building the well-known restaurant, located at 15011 Marine Dr., in 1985.

“We all knew him to be a sassy, hard-working man who was always eager to give feedback and to make his vision for the world a reality,” the Facebook post states.

“His powerful presence and willingness to go the extra mile for his friends and family enabled the creation of multiple businesses in all walks of life – all our extended family.”

No one from the restaurant was prepared to speak to Global News on Friday about Carroll’s death.

In the Facebook post, staff said they know Carroll is looking down on his legacy with a wheatgrass smoothie and a grass-fed beef skewer in hand.