An Alberta couple who gave up grain farming to flip houses and made enough to escape to Lotus Land are opening a sweet new business in Hillside Centre.
"I never dreamed we'd be opening a candy store," laughs Ken Marquardt, who along with wife Barb will take the wraps off Sweet Delights: Candy Bouquet on Wednesday in the former Footlocker location on the Sears wing of the mall. "But we're very confident with the products we're offering that we're going in the right direction."
Local businesses are a rarity in large shopping centres, but the Marquardts have previously had seasonal agreements with Hillside. They've signed a four-month lease for about half of the Footlocker space, and are pursuing a longer deal.
Sweet Delights will specialize in custom-made candy bouquets as an alternative to flowers for gifts and special occasions. The couple will also stock hard-to-find nostalgic candy brands like Beeman's gum, Lucky Elephant Popcorn, Neapolitan Taffy, Lemonheads and Pez. They will also offer vegan as well as gluten-, sugar- and nut-free candy products.
Belcher clears the table after 18 years
After almost 18 years on Oak Bay Avenue, Jan Belcher is retiring and closing Avenue China & Chintz. "Doing business in Oak Bay has been an absolute pleasure ... the customers have been loyal and a delight," said Belcher, 59. "The business was doing fine, but I wanted to retire and re-focus on some personal interests and goals." Belcher, soon to be a grandmother a second time, opened the store on Feb. 1, 1993, selling antique china, silver, crystal and jewelry. She later added new tableware, soaps, clothing and other eclectic items. She's marking down starting Monday to liquidate her inventory and closes at month's end. The store is at 2225 Oak Bay Ave.
Papa Murphy's coming to Duncan
Lori Webb, who opened the Island's first Papa Murphy's Take n Bake Pizza outlet at West Shore Town Centre a year ago, is opening her second location next week. It's in Duncan at 254 Trans Canada Highway, across from Safeway. Papa Murphy's prepares pizzas on site and customers take them home to their own ovens. It's proven popular for busy families and has weathered the recession well. Webb has plans for a third location in Victoria in January.
Fort Street merchants organizing
Trevor Walker, owner of Plenty Epicurean Pantry, and neighbour Pam Skelton of Not Just Pretty Organic Clothing want to band together with other merchants in the 1000 block of Fort Street to form a new business district. Their proposal is to brand the area as Mosaic Village after the landmark Mosaic Building built in 1961 by noted architect John Di Castri. Walker and Skelton will present the proposal to fellow business owners on Monday at 5:15 p.m. at Khona Cafe, 1090 Fort St. They're looking for ideas and feedback for a series of special events Sept. 21-26. Business districts have been popping up everywhere as of late -- Humboldt Valley, Lower Johnson, Design District, Broad Street to name a few -- as small businesses collectively market destination shopping.
Second-generation florist blooms
Lori Lait has re-opened the flower shop in St. Andrew's Square downtown. The 31-year-old entrepreneur is a second-generation florist who grew up in the industry and is getting plenty of startup help with View Street Florists from her mother, Adrienne Lait, who has owned Lait Bloomer Flowers in Ladysmith for 22 years. View Street Florists opened Monday and offers fresh cut flowers as well as plants. She caters to office workers as well as shoppers and takes orders for special events such as weddings. She delivers and will be offering wire services soon. The 300-square-foot shop, most recently home to Poppy's 2, is at 140-736 View St. Call 778-977-3003.
Camosun names associate dean
Sarah Loewen has been named associate dean at Camosun College's School of Access, which provides upgrading courses, career and education exploration, employment training and ESL classes to more than 1,500 students a year. It's a return to her alma mater for Loewen, a Haida Gwaii native who graduated from Camosun's hotel and restaurant management program in the late 1980s. She was previously at Northwest Community College and Vancouver Island University and completed an MBA at Royal Roads University. Nearly 40 per cent of students enrolled in Camosun's university transfer and career programs begin their studies at the School of Access, either on campus or partner sites.
Downtown hires new marketer
Lindsay Windecker joins the Downtown Victoria Business Association as marketing co-ordinator on Thursday. She had the same position with the Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association for the past year.
Monarch starts wholesale division
Monarch Furnishings, an importer of handcrafted wood furniture from Indonesia, has launched a wholesale division to supply stores across Western Canada. Owner Tony Martin, an Australian native, opened Monarch five years ago and has a showroom on Herald Street and warehouse on Store Street, where he receives large cargo loads of furniture several times a year. He's currently supplying two Vancouver stores and Nanaimo's Flying Fish. Monarch has exclusive agreements with suppliers, so designs are not found anywhere else in North America. The products are made from a variety of hardwoods, including several lines of mango wood furniture. Mango trees reach heights of 30 metres and girths up to two metres within 20 years, losing fruit production, so the species is replanted often, says Martin. It is replacing rare or endangered species such as teak.
Nanaimo CA firm names new partners
Jen Bogwald, Cory Vanderhorst, Lynne Pankratz and James Byrne have all been promoted to partners at Meyers Norris Penny LLP Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors in Nanaimo.
Bookkeeper earns designation
Victoria's Shirley Franklin, owner of Ducks in a Row Services, has earned her Certified Professional Bookkeeper designation from the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada.
New agent for Pemberton Holmes
Bill Harrison has joined Pemberton Holmes Real Estate as an agent. He has more than 30 years in the business, including 15 in Calgary. He can be reached at 250-384-8124.
RRU prof takes training society helm
Connie Carter, professor of law with the faculty of management at Royal Roads University, has been named chair and president of the Island chapter of the Canadian Society for Training and Development. The organization has been around since 1946 advocating workplace training by lobbying governments, developing competency standards and boosting professional development.
dkloster@tc.canwest.com
