Elite Image Expands With Purchase Of InPrint Graphic Design & Printing
MARK MACDONALD
White Sails Brewery on Comox Road was named Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise of the Year at the 2021 Nanaimo Business Awards. Owner Brad McCarthy opened the brewery in 2015 and they now have 20 employees. Brad also started Oceanside Wine Works in Parksville in 2003.
“I feel honoured to have received this award,” says Brad. “I’m very proud of my team and how they have responded to the ever-changing business landscape due to the COVID pandemic. We have worked hard to continue to make our taproom a comfortable, inclusive place where everyone feels safe, and to be a vibrant part of the downtown community.”
White Sails was also voted Best in Nanaimo for craft beer for the third straight year, and won a bronze medal at the Canadian Beer Awards for their Circle Route Hazy Pale Ale.
Brad McCarthy
Other winners in the Awards, broadcast on CHEK TV on October 3, were: Leadership – Nanaimo Brain Injury Society and Eden Gardens; Major Employer – Mid Island Co-op; Micro Business – Junk In Our Trunk; Food & Beverage – Gina’s Mexican Café; Retail – Iron Oxide Art Supplies; Building & Trades – Island Red Cedar Construction Ltd. ; Developer – IWCD; Auto/Truck/Marine Services – Parker Marine Nanaimo; Auto/Truck/Marine Sales – Nanaimo Mitsubishi; Financial Services – Core Insurance Services; Creative Services – Arrowsmith Media; Personal Services – That 50’s Barbershop; Health & Wellness – Kerri Isham POWER UP Education; Non-Profit – Nanaimo Family Life Association; Social Enterprise – Nanaimo Community Hospice; Corporate Social Responsibility – Harbour Air Seaplanes.
Sunbelt Rentals has opened a new location at 1702 Northfield Road, in the former site of European Specialty Automotive, which has moved to its own new building at 2338 Kenworth Road. Sunbelt, which has many locations throughout North America, is now right next to Sharecost Rentals & Sales.
Dr. Andre Savoie has retired from dentistry, the last link of a long-time Nanaimo family in the profession. His brother Claude retired several years ago, as the brothers had purchased the practice from their father, Fern, who moved to the Island from Manitoba to raise his family.
Dr. Andre Savoie
Terminal Park Dental Clinic at 1559 Estevan Road continues on, with two great dentists, Dr. David Beslic and Dr. Kerman Kooner. Their sister is my wife Lise, and my partner throughout my journey with the Business Examiner, and our other businesses.
Vancouver Island has a new realtor, as Tim Down has moved from Kelowna to join RE/MAX Anchor Realty as an Associate Broker in Qualicum Beach. Tim is a long-time realtor and appraiser, and former city councilor. He was a partner in NAI Commercial Okanagan, and was the founding Chair of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board’s Commercial Zone.
460 Realty’s expansion into Powell River has been a big hit. Scott Forbes is General Manager of 460, based in Nanaimo, and Josh Statham says the Powell River office on Joyce Avenue is growing and poised for more growth.
Congratulations to F&M Installations upon winning a $128 contract for balance of plant contract for electrical work at the Site C Dam near Fort St. John for BC Hydro. F&M’s head office is on Old Schoolhouse Road, next to the Trans-Canada Highway in south Nanaimo.
A tip of the hat to Clair Zhang and her team – and newest staff member – at the new Chinese buffet Driftwood Restaurant, which has opened at Nanaimo North Town Centre. Clair has introduced BellaBot the robot, which she tried out at another one of their restaurants, SimonHolt, for a month before moving her to Driftwood. It takes takeout orders from the kitchen to the front door, and customers love watching her do her thing.
Elite Image is expanding again, as owner Catrina Elliott has purchased InPrint Graphic Design and Printing from owner Craig Palin, who has served the community for 42 years at the business and plans to retire after helping through the transition. Dave Mcbride joins the Elite team, located on Wallace Street.
Sorry to hear of the passing of Murray Wenner, former President of Wenner Electric, on October 2. Murray retired in 2001 from the company that his father started, O.R. Wenner Electric.
Tectonica is busy building the Cowichan Valley Medical Centre. The building, featuring 20,000 square feet of clinic and medical office space to serve the Cowichan Valley, is slated for completion by next July.
An ambitious plan to transform downtown Lantzville has passed first and second reading by Lantzville council. The project by Lantzville Projects Ltd., which is behind the Clark-Medd project in Lantzville, calls for up to 700 residential units in Village South as well as mixed-use buildings, a grocery store and single family, multi-family buildings and townhouses, and seniors housing.
Nanaimo city council has given third reading to rezoning amendments that would allow construction of the 72-room Diver Lake Inn at 3679 Shenton Road.
Another year at the increasingly popular Cedar Farmers Market has come to an end. Crowds of around 2,500 were recorded each Sunday to visit up to 100 vendors at the Woodbank School location, which represents a 25 per cent increase over previous years. The market was located next to the Crow and Gate for many years.
A new warehousing and distribution centre opened in Parksville on October 15 called DELVI, short for Deliver Vancouver Island, at 1210 Industrial Way. It’s a temporary location, as it plans to move into a 30,000 square foot warehouse in Errington in 2023.
The good news continues at Taste of BC Aquafarms, which was purchased by Blue Star Foods Corp. of Florida in June. They grow Little Cedar Falls steelhead salmon at their land-based facility on Jameson Road, and exceeded its 100 ton project target again. Their new goal is to ramp up to where they produce 1,500 tons each year.
Copcan Civil Ltd. has been awarded a $1,285,500 contract to build the Parksville Outdoor Theatre, which is targeted for completion by May 31, 2022.
Congratulations to VMAC upon celebrating their 35th year in business making underhood air compressors for trucks and vehicles.
Rugged Coast Research Society has launched a 32-foot landing craft designed and built by Rival Craft of Coombs to help them in their mission to help clean up the ocean around Vancouver Island. The Stanley de Vos fund administered through the Nanaimo Foundation donated $65,000 and provided matching donations for every $10,000 raised towards their fundraising goal of $145,000. They celebrated their successful fundraising efforts with an October 7 cruise around Newcastle Island.
Island West Coast Developments (IWCD) has asked the city of Nanaimo to increase the number of student housing beds at a new mixed-use student housing project for a client at 416 Wakesiah Avenue from 44 to 117.
Congratulations to Jade Du, for starting a new position as a Private Wealth Financial planner at TD. Jade was formerly at CIBC.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and can be reached at mark@communicationink.ca