The Buzz Coffee House Re-opens On Rutherford Road
MARK MACDONALD
Congratulations to Country Grocer upon earning a national bronze award and regional gold award at the 2020 Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year Awards for its Bowen Road location.
Tyler Large, North Island Operations Manager for Country Grocer, is delighted with the award, which was for stores of over 25,000 square feet. The Bowen Road/Dufferin Crescent store opened in 2012, and also won regional recognition in 2014. They also have a store in Chase River.
Country Grocer’s store at Royal Oak in Victoria won a silver and a gold award in the competition this year as well.
Bastion Jewellers owners Jean and Bill Carter are retiring and closing their long-time Commercial Street location. The Carters have been friendly and active downtown Nanaimo business people for over three decades, and they will be missed.
Bil Derby has stepped down as a Director and shareholder in Tectonica, and will continue to work with the construction and development company as a Senior Project Manager.
The Buzz Coffee House has moved from Dufferin Crescent to a new location, in the former Haz Beans site at 4890 Rutherford Road, next to the Island Highway.
Scott Forbes announces some changes at NAI Commercial, a 460 Group Company. Scott remains as President, with Marianne Stolz the new Managing Broker at NAI.
Westmark Construction is building a 100-unit apartment complex in the Holland Creek development in Ladysmith.
ALVIN TAN
Congratulations to Alvin Tan of RE/MAX of Nanaimo upon earning a RE/MAX Hall of Fame Award for 2021 for his sales achievements.
Graphic artist Amy Pye is now working on her third children’s book, following the launch of her Bruce the Silly Goose and G is For Grizzly Bear.
Amy has her own company Pye Design, and is Art Director for Real Estate Webmasters.
Carter Turnbull, son of Chris Turnbull, co-owner of DenMar Electric, and Trish Turnbull of RE/MAX of Nanaimo, has been named Captain of the University of Connecticut men’s ice hockey team for the upcoming season.
Carter, who will be a Senior in the fall, played for the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior B Hockey League and the Powell River Kings of the BC Hockey League prior to heading south. Carter is studying to be a chiropractor.
Congratulations to Vanessa Savoie, daughter of Nanaimo dentist Dr. Andre Savoie, upon being promoted to Account Executive at Crowd Content in Victoria.
Mrs. Riches has opened its patio for outdoor dining at the popular downtown eatery.
MCKENZIE LOU KELLY
Mckenzie Lou Kelly is pleased with the growth of his own company, K-Lou Electric, which the Red Seal certified electrician started a couple of years ago. I coached him in Nanaimo Minor Baseball along with his father George Kelly, a renowned baseball coach and long-time professor at Vancouver Island University. www.k-louelectric.a
Caledonian Clinic has consolidated its medical operations at Nanaimo North Town Centre, and its former downtown Nanaimo location on Wallace Street is being pitched by developers as a 163-unit, six-storey apartment building, featuring 1-3 bedroom units. Developers have the project at the corner of Campbell Street into the City of Nanaimo, awaiting approval their development permit.
Dr. Steve Beerman has been honoured following his retirement from Anchor Family Medicine this spring. He received the Dr. David M. Bachop Gold Medal for Distinguished Medical Service from the Doctors of B.C., as he helped established a family practice residency program in Nanaimo for the University of British Columbia. Queen Elizabeth also presented him with the King Edward VII Cup via Zoom on May 6, which is presented to Royal Life Saving Society members for outstanding contributions to drowning prevention.
A tip of the hat to Cobs Bread at Terminal Park Mall, for raising more than $11,000 in Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank contributions this spring. Matched by Cobs Bread founders, that meant over $22,100 went to Loaves and Fishes. March 27 is Cobs Bread’s Doughnation Day.
Community builder, mentor and inspiration Norm McNabb has passed away, five months after his wife Edna passed away. They were the founders of Nored Developments (from Norm and Edna).
Norm was well known and loved in Nanaimo, and his business journey and generosity has inspired many people. Supported by former Nanaimo Mayor Frank Ney, Norm brought Sun-Glo Lumber out of bankruptcy at its Milton Street location and grew the family business to where it became one of Nanaimo’s biggest taxpayers through Nored and its other interests. A handshake deal and “contract” written on a napkin in the back of a friend’s pickup truck gave Norm ownership of the property at the corner of Hammond Bay Road and the old Island Highway, which became some of the most valuable real estate north of Victoria on Vancouver Island.
Norm was my coach on the Junior B hockey Nanaimo Buccaneers in 1978-79 along with his son Terry, and his family is well known and respected throughout the development, real estate and construction industries. Rod Milner of The Milner Group is Norm’s son-in-law, as he is married to Norm and Edna’s daughter Tanis. Son Lance McNabb has been a mainstay at Nored for many years. He is already greatly missed.
It was Norm who encouraged Greg Constable to start his own construction company, and Island West Coast Developments’ (IWCD) first commercial building was Nored Plaza next to Costco.
IWCD owners Greg and Troy-Anne Constable are proud to announce that IWCD has retained their Platinum Club Member status as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, sponsored by Deloitte. That makes it seven consecutive years.
Also at IWCD: Chief Financial Officer Tayler Osmond is going to be featured in the Top 100 People in Finance magazine.
VMAC has also earned its third consecutive appearance on the Best Managed Companies list. That follows being recognized again as a Best Workplace in Canada for 2021, compiled by Great Place To Work, notes VMAC President Tod Gilbert.
TRD Metral Developments Inc. has received rezoning approval from Nanaimo City Council for 5915 Metral Drive, which will allow them to build 28 housing units in three-storey clusters on the property.
Plans to build a four-storey, 76-unit apartment building at 4961 Songbird Place have been upgraded, as developers have submitted an application to build 108 units over five storeys on the property, next to Nanaimo North Town Centre.
Cannabis company Tilray has been named to Time Magazine’s first ever list of 100 Most Influential Companies.
Tilray recently merged with Aphria to become the largest cannabis company in the world with over $685 million in annual revenue. Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy and Aphria CEO Irwin Simon have joined the board of the merged company.
The partnership is an important step in improving Tilray’s access to the United Kingdom, and distribution under the new agreement in the U.K. began in March.
Sad news: The downtown Nanaimo White Spot restaurant has been permanently closed. The location suffered due to the location of a homeless centre across the street, but COVID-19 restrictions seriously curtailed business at the eatery. White Spot is still open at Woodgrove Centre in north Nanaimo.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and can be reached at mark@communicationink.ca
