Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Dollarama gets downtown spot on Douglas, Westside Village

Dollarama is expected to open doors for a new store on Douglas Street in the spring. The discount-store chain has signed a deal to open in the former Shoppers Drug Mart location in the 1200 block of Douglas Street.
CPT10318763.jpg
A Dollarama store is seen Tuesday, June 11, 2013 in Montreal. A store will be opening on Douglas Street in Victoria. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Dollarama is expected to open doors for a new store on Douglas Street in the spring.

The discount-store chain has signed a deal to open in the former Shoppers Drug Mart location in the 1200 block of Douglas Street.

The company is also reportedly planning to open in Westside Village in Vic West.

Dollarama, which has more than 1,000 stores across Canada, has three other locations in Greater Victoria — 3082 Blanshard St., 3510 Blanshard St. and 2973 Tillicum Rd.

New head for Royal, McPherson

The Royal and McPherson Theatres Society has named Franz Lehrbass as executive director, effective Jan. 21. He will succeed Lloyd Fitzsimonds who retires in December after 20 years of leadership at the city’s main theatres.

Lehrbass spent 10 years as general manager of the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium in Brandon, where he managed capital renovation projects, diversified its capital funding, expanded its mandate and grew its overall business.

“We are pleased to have Franz join our organization,” said Lorne DeLarge, RMTS board president. “Franz has a proven track record as a professional manager and brings a strong background in the arts community. Additionally, his hands-on experience caring for a historic arts venue makes him a great choice to lead our organization going forward.”

“In meeting the RMTS staff, I’ve discovered a team of professionals, each very experienced and deeply committed to providing excellent service to the clients and patrons of the Royal Theatre and McPherson Playhouse,” said Lehrbass.

Originally from Ontario, Lehrbass studied classical music performance at the University of Western Ontario and audio engineering technology at the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology. Prior to his career in theatre management, Lehrbass worked for a startup in Silicon Valley and as a producer for the CBC’s music department.

Get set for Blue Friday

A group of six Victoria eco-minded businesses have pledged to donate all profits from “Blue Friday” sales to the Surfrider Foundation.

The companies, who claim to be railing against “mindless overconsumption of traditional black Friday shopping,” will have sales on the same day, but will donate all profits to the Rise Above Plastics Campaign by the Vancouver Island Surfrider Chapter.

The companies — L/L Supply, Goldilocks, SALT, Zero Waste Emporium, West Coast Refill and Ecologyst —claim the negative effects of Black Friday are “so far reaching that it is difficult to quantify.”

New construction board

The Vancouver Island Construction Association elected four industry leaders to its 2019-2020 board of directors. There were nine nominees from across Vancouver Island.

Chris Williams, Houle Electric (Victoria), and Byron Tarby, National Contracting Solutions (Nanaimo), were newly elected to the board. James Clapp, JLT Marsh Specialty (Victoria), and Scott Torry, AFC Construction (Courtenay), were re-elected. Roger Yager will remain chairman and Dave Flint, Flynn Canada, will remain past chair.

Clapp will be appointed vice-chairman at the first board meeting of 2020 after serving his second term on the board as the treasurer.