8289 replies to this topic

[m0nkyman]

Noticed that a Build a Bear Workshop is coming to Mayfair.
If you have kiddoes, you will end up there.

[Ms. B. Havin]

^ re. the mobile abattoir: I'm really impressed that this is available! The details elude me right now, but it seems to me that a couple of years ago, local chicken growers were faced with the closure of island slaughterhouses, which threatened effectively to put small and/or organic operations out of business, because their only option was to get their animals to the mainland (which would price them out of the market). To me, that was a symptom of centralization running amok, especially considering the problems with huge abattoirs, which are vectors for diseases -- and given the industrial scale of animal "husbandry," that's a huge issue. One case of bird flu, and the whole operation has to grind to a halt, while hundreds of thousands of animal corpses end up in landfill... At the time, it seemed almost a done deal, and I'm still not sure what happened. But as far as I can see, a mobile unit like this is a great feature that helps to curb (in a good way) overly-centralized (and industrialized) food production, and it contributes to food security.

Sorry to all the vegetarians, it probably creeps you out. But as an omnivore (and trying to avoid hypocrisy), I'm glad that local farmers (who might still keep their animals in "humane" ways) get to slaughter locally and sell locally.

[G-Man]

^ That is a really good point.

[Holden West]

So I'm out tonight riding my bike and I see three giant semi trucks with Indiana plates idling outside that funeral home on Fort Street (big delivery, I'm thinking to myself).

As I pass by, a big ole Southern fella leans out of the cab and says to me "Say, now, is this the way ta hah-way sevanteen?"

"No", I say, "that's back on Blanshard Street, that way" (I had to resist saying "over yonder").

He says, "We just got off the ferry and weah supposed to delivah these truckloads for the new Staples stoah by eight Sunday moahnin'. We supposed to park at Staples, but ah don't see a strip mall 'round heah!"

[Icebergalley]

Guess the goods weren't for the Fort Street store...

Wonder if they will store them at the "big box" and then trans ship to their Downtown store?

Is their a loading dock for the new store?

[G-Man]

There is a loading area of sorts off of Broughton Street.

[G-Man]

Those trucks were going to the new store they are offloading about three huge trucks into the new store.

[aastra]

...but ah don't see a strip mall 'round heah!"

[aastra]

My mistake. That's "Harris Green Village."

[Holden West]

Boy, that ain't no strip mall. Y'all got buildings pointing at odd angles, folks walkin' around what ain't got no car, drinkin' fancy coffees, sittin' around like they's some kind of Frenchman or somethin'.

A proper strip mall is a big long box parallel to the hah-way, with acres of parking out front and real food like a Denny's or Arby's like God intended.

[VicHockeyFan]

Store to open beside shelter
Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A new Liberty Furniture home decor store is setting up shop next door to the downtown Streetlink Emergency Shelter.

Despite complaints from existing businesses over problems with street people, Liberty management is confident the store will work at 1630 Store St.

Store representatives have talked to Streetlink officials, as well as city hall, on the issues surrounding the property.

We are not quitters. We are really going to make it work," said Colette Soros, general manager for Liberty's Vancouver stores.

Streetlink is run by the Victoria Cool Aid Society. The downtown shelter has 55 beds for homeless adults and offers a wide range of services.

Vancouver-based Liberty, founded in 1992 and owned by the Bailey Group, has stores on West Broadway, Langley and North Vancouver.

The 10,000-square-foot Victoria store, once home to the Fogg & Sudds restaurant-pub, is expected to open in early summer, said Soros. A Calgary store is planned for the fall.

Liberty will be the latest addition to downtown Victoria's so-called design district. That part of the city continues to attract businesses eager to join others offering home decor services and merchandise.

Victoria's Liberty store will follow the design concept seen in its other stores with high ceilings, plenty of natural light, architectural pieces, original art work and a massive indoor fountain. A coffee shop, sub-leased to an operator, will face the water, Soros said yesterday.

Shoppers will find a range of gifts, from $5 to $200. The store carries "classically inspired pieces with a modern twist," Soros said. Merchandise is priced to suit different budgets. It includes furniture, accessories, lighting, children's products and garden merchandise.

Bailey Group owner Glenn Bailey is on the lookout for investment properties to buy that would be suitable for Liberty stores, she said. Other possible future locations include Seattle and Toronto.

[Holden West]

A pic of their Vancouver store:

http://maeblog.com/b...es/050413-2.jpg

[aastra]

They moved out of that building months ago. That site has since been condo-fied.

[VicHockeyFan]

Furniture... as much as $200.. hmmm..

[Holden West]

Milk crates and cinder block bookshelves can't be used as furniture once you're over 30. It's the law.

[m0nkyman]

Unless you live in a 750,000$ condo. Then it's ironic.

[Galvanized]

VICTORIA'S 'LO-JO' SHOPPING DISTRICT

Apr 27, 2007

THE SHOPPING DISTRICT, FORMALLY KNOWN AS THE LOWER BLOCK OF JOHNSON, NOW HAS A NEW NAME.

"LO-JO".

MORE THAN THREE THOUSAND SHOPPERS ENTERED THE CONTEST TO RE-NAME THE LOWER BLOCK OF JOHNSON AND A JAMES BAY RESIDENT HAS WON A ONE-THOUSAND DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE.

ON THE DAY OF THE MAY 12TH SHOPPING SPREE, THE WINNER WILL GET ROYAL TREATMENT, WHICH INCLUDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST PASSENGERS TO BE ON THE NEW DOCK DURING VICTORIA HARBOUR FERRY'S GRAND OPENING CEREMONIES.

THE ENTIRE -LO-JO- BLOCK WILL BE DECORATED WITH BALLOONS AND NEW LOJO DECALS ON THAT DAY.

- NIKKI EWANYSHYN CFAX 1070

[VicHockeyFan]

Oak Bay's legendary pie man
After 39 years, he's ready to retire
Column by Darron Kloster, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, April 28, 2007

The legendary Pie Man of Oak Bay is putting away his plates and closing the oven door for good next month.

Jack Galbraith, who has owned Robertshaw Specialty Pies for 39 years and provided legions of families with his signature Melton Mowbray and steak-and-kidney pies as well as crisp apple and other fruit pies, is retiring and selling his spot in the quirky little shop on the 2800 block of Foul Bay Road.

Galbraith said health issues and age have forced his hand. " I'm 77 and I think it's time I took it easy," he said. "I'm just kind of disintegrating." Galbraith said he had "some illness last summer" and open-heart surgery a few years ago, without elaborating.

A pizza place is currently negotiating a new lease in the space, which is included in the tidy row of shops in the Dean Heights neighbourhood on the Lansdowne slope. Galbraith expects to close in mid-May.

Robertshaw's kept a faithful following with a wide menu that included homemade soups, Cornish and Danish pastries, sausage rolls, shortbread, carrot cake and Nanaimo bars, to name a few.

A few tables and chairs also made a warm gathering place for coffee regulars.

The shop got its start from the Lundin family who built the commercial strip in the 1950s, said Galbraith. In 1961, it became known as Robertshaw's -- a play on the names of the new owners, Mrs. Robertson and Barry Grimshaw, a well-known local actor and set designer. Galbraith took it over in 1968.

He said he's given "hundreds" of young bakers their start in the business and has had his own kids and now his grandchildren working in the kitchen. "None of my offspring appear to be interested in this, so there's no one to carry on, really," Galbraith said. "I would have liked it, but if they don't I can't do anything about it."

The abrupt closure of Uncle Willy's Buffet in late November was due to a combination of the owner's health, high rents and the lack of available workers, says a good friend of the former owner. Karam Haroya, 55, had chronic hip troubles and recent knee surgery and had trouble keeping enough staff to operate the popular, 400-seat restaurant in Saanich Plaza, says Gordie Dodd, owner of Dodd's Furniture and a long-time associate of Haroya's.

"He liked to work hard and he liked the business but could not carry on," Dodd said this week. Haroya's three grown children have pursued university and outside careers and no longer were able to work for their father, he added. The labour crunch squeezing the foodservices industry didn't help, nor did the high cost of renting the large space, said Dodd.

The Times Colonist still receives calls and e-mails weekly from diners who miss the buffet-style fare and low prices. Uncle Willy's operated for more than 15 years. Dodd had served Thanksgiving dinners to the less fortunate at Uncle Willy's for eight consecutive years. He wants to continue to the goodwill and is looking for another restaurant. The space is currently up for lease.

Gordie Dodd's campy-but-catchy television commercials -- where he's portrayed everyone from Harry Potter to Tarzan to pitch his furniture -- has caught the eye of a Hollywood legend. Dick Clark wants to use Gordie's Incredible Hulk version for an upcoming production of his World's Funniest Commercials television special.

Of course Gordie said he couldn't refuse. There has been no specific date on when the spot will run on U.S. network television. In it, Dodd turns green and rips off his shirt, saying his trademark "I won't be undersold."

Oak Bay Hardware, considered one of Oak Bay's longest-running businesses, is up for sale. Paul and Brenda Hickman, who have owned the municipality's only hardware store for the past 22 years, want to retire and have listed a freshly signed five-year lease for the busy little store for $125,000.

The couple, in their mid-70s, took a river cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow last year and it "gave us a bite to do it," says Brenda. The 1,600-square-foot store has been around since the early 1920s and is widely known for an inventory that ranges from china and giftware to paint and gardening and the tiniest of screws, springs and those hard-to-find replacement pieces.

The Hickmans bought Oak Bay Hardware from Jack and Greta Harness, who owned it for 50 years. Hickman said recent openings of two hardware stores on the Oak Bay-Victoria border hasn't hurt the business.

"We're holding our own," said Hickman. "It still has a reputation of if you can't get it anywhere else, you can get it here. Oak Bay residents have been very loyal." She said there haven't yet been any serious offers. Call 598-4222.

Vecima Networks Inc. (TSX:VCM) has opened an 8,000-square-foot facility in Mangolore, India to develop embedded software. Vecima, which is headquartered here, designs and manufactures devices that enable broadband access to cable, wireless and telephony networks.

Chief clients are major service providers. Vecima said in a release the new facility on India's southwest coast will employ about 50 and give the company access to a "world-class pool of talent." Vecima employs 670 overall with the majority based in manufacturing in Saskatoon and about 50 in Saanich in research and development, sales and marketing.

[G-Man]

So the other retail space at the bottom of the Chelsea has a leased sign in the window. It can't be a pharmacy, liquor store or starbucks so what does that leave?

[D.L.]

dry cleaners


I think the downtown Staples is opening next Monday.