Local Business

A woodsy backdrop sets the Local Folk Fair Summer Market at Sea Cider in Central Saanich apart from street markets. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)

Central Saanich market offers shopping, snacking in the woods

Local vendors range from food and farm fare to a variety of artisans

A woodsy backdrop sets the Local Folk Fair Summer Market at Sea Cider in Central Saanich apart from street markets. (Christine van Reeuwyk/News Staff)
Bocce courts, seen in the left corner of a rendering, are part of renovation plans for Canoe Brewpub as it transforms into Victoria’s first Craft Beer Market location. The plans received council approval earlier this month. (Courtesy of FORT Architecture)

Bocce courts, games room approved for Victoria’s Canoe Brewpub takeover renovations

Canadian brewpub chain Craft Beer Market purchased the pub in January

Bocce courts, seen in the left corner of a rendering, are part of renovation plans for Canoe Brewpub as it transforms into Victoria’s first Craft Beer Market location. The plans received council approval earlier this month. (Courtesy of FORT Architecture)
Making civic and other institutional purchases with an eye to social impact is among the goals the Coastal Communities Social Procurement Initiative, of which the City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt and Capital Regional District are members. (Photo courtesy City of Victoria)

Greater Victoria civic agencies help drive B.C. social procurement initiative

$200 million spent by members on socially valuable goods and services in first two years

Making civic and other institutional purchases with an eye to social impact is among the goals the Coastal Communities Social Procurement Initiative, of which the City of Victoria, Township of Esquimalt and Capital Regional District are members. (Photo courtesy City of Victoria)
Khalid Hammad opened Oceanside Pharmacy in downtown Sidney in November 2020. He first discovered Sidney during a crabbing trip. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Pharmacist nets Sidney a new downtown business

Khalid Hammad fell in love with Sidney while crabbing off Bevan Fishing Pier

Khalid Hammad opened Oceanside Pharmacy in downtown Sidney in November 2020. He first discovered Sidney during a crabbing trip. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
A new federal focus on Greater Victoria’s economic development is expected in the coming years after the Government of Canada announced a new B.C.-focused agency Aug. 5, with one of its regional offices in Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)

New economic development agency promises federal focus on Victoria

PacifiCan replacing Western Economic Diversification Canada in B.C. with nine offices

A new federal focus on Greater Victoria’s economic development is expected in the coming years after the Government of Canada announced a new B.C.-focused agency Aug. 5, with one of its regional offices in Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)
Destination Greater Victoria has used Stats Canada data to confirm Victoria as the Canadian city with the most restaurants, eateries, pubs and bars per capita. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria leads Canadian cities in restaurants, pubs, bars per capita

Victoria’s 4.6 hospitality businesses per 1,000 residents tops Vancouver, Niagara Falls: Stats Can

Destination Greater Victoria has used Stats Canada data to confirm Victoria as the Canadian city with the most restaurants, eateries, pubs and bars per capita. (Black Press Media file photo)
Yumbrosia Fine Foods offers a wide variety of quality products imported from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Best of the City: Yumbrosia brings a world of flavour to Oak Bay

Owner Ihsan Askar provides quality international products to Victoria and beyond

Yumbrosia Fine Foods offers a wide variety of quality products imported from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)
Isaiah Archer (from left), Nina Colovic, Iwan Williams and Matt West-Patrick are partners of Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. Fifth partner Colin Curtis is not pictured. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Best of the City: Beers, buds, no boats – this is Whistle Buoy Brewing Co.

Following the local craft brewing trend, Whistle Buoy has made over 120 names for itself

Isaiah Archer (from left), Nina Colovic, Iwan Williams and Matt West-Patrick are partners of Whistle Buoy Brewing Co. Fifth partner Colin Curtis is not pictured. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)
Customers fill their carts at The Root Cellar store on McKenzie Avenue. Daisy and Adam Orser opened the location 13 years ago and are working on transforming the former Oxford Foods in Cook Street Village into theiir second store. (Emma Rossum Photography)

Second Root Cellar store to open in Victoria as early as late fall

Customers serve as motivators for co-owner Daisy Orser amid pandemic

Customers fill their carts at The Root Cellar store on McKenzie Avenue. Daisy and Adam Orser opened the location 13 years ago and are working on transforming the former Oxford Foods in Cook Street Village into theiir second store. (Emma Rossum Photography)
The patios in the 1300-block of Gladstone Avenue serve as a pilot program as Victoria explores permanently allowing street and sidewalk dining spaces. (Courtesy Build Back Victoria)

Build Back Victoria programs add vibrancy to the city

Supporting local businesses leads to trial runs for City of Victoria

The patios in the 1300-block of Gladstone Avenue serve as a pilot program as Victoria explores permanently allowing street and sidewalk dining spaces. (Courtesy Build Back Victoria)
The B.C. Farmers Market Guide helps locals and travellers find fresh produce markets near them. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. Farmers Market Guide helps Greater Victoria residents find nearby sites

Market operators encourage residents to shop local as social restrictions ease

The B.C. Farmers Market Guide helps locals and travellers find fresh produce markets near them. (Black Press Media file photo)
Head baker Brook Schaddelee, (from left), manager Michele Byrne and chocolatier Jack Schaddelee smile behind the counter at the Dutch Bakery and Diner. The establishment has operated for 65 years and the current operators still use the traditional European recipes of grandfather and founder Kees Schaddelee. (Courtesy of Dutch Bakery and Diner)

Best of the City: Third-generation owners keep Dutch Bakery recipes alive after 65 years in Victoria

Bakery thrives again after readapting business model during pandemic

Head baker Brook Schaddelee, (from left), manager Michele Byrne and chocolatier Jack Schaddelee smile behind the counter at the Dutch Bakery and Diner. The establishment has operated for 65 years and the current operators still use the traditional European recipes of grandfather and founder Kees Schaddelee. (Courtesy of Dutch Bakery and Diner)
Good Things Consignments owner Junice Da Costa Reis and staff member Terry Battersby pose in the archway of the store’s left wing on Saturday, July 10. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Best of the City: Oak Bay consignment store breathes new life into old items

Good Things Consignments has helped people find value in their items for 27 years

Good Things Consignments owner Junice Da Costa Reis and staff member Terry Battersby pose in the archway of the store’s left wing on Saturday, July 10. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)
Downtown Victoria Business Association executive director Jeff Bray discusses his association’s third annual report, outlining the resiliency of downtown businesses throughout the pandemic. (Kiernan Green/New Staff)

Downtown Victoria reps surprised by business resiliency during pandemic

Loss of businesses modest, report shows, growth of new retail spaces continues

Downtown Victoria Business Association executive director Jeff Bray discusses his association’s third annual report, outlining the resiliency of downtown businesses throughout the pandemic. (Kiernan Green/New Staff)
B.C. Investment Management Corporation CEO Gordon Fyfe has led the corporation to achieve positive returns for the province’s civil service pension plan. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Victoria-based company nets record return for B.C. pension investment in pandemic year

B.C. Investment Management Corporation gained 16.5 per cent in 2020 for civil service pension plan

B.C. Investment Management Corporation CEO Gordon Fyfe has led the corporation to achieve positive returns for the province’s civil service pension plan. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)
QThreadz co-founder Mady Harber runs a pop-up shop of their normally online upcycled, gender-inclusive clothing store in Royal Athletic Park. (Courtesy of Mady Harber)

Sliding-scale, upcycled and gender-inclusive: Victoria shop creates accessible retail space

There are no gender or sexuality expectations at QThreadz

QThreadz co-founder Mady Harber runs a pop-up shop of their normally online upcycled, gender-inclusive clothing store in Royal Athletic Park. (Courtesy of Mady Harber)
Riders with Bikers Against Child Abuse chose to visit the Peninsula on Sunday because of the Sidney Street Market and its food trucks. The market is operating out of a temporary location in the parking lot of the Mary Winspear Centre. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Tourists starting to roll back into Sidney

Sidney Street Market organizers, vendors observing more out-of-towners

Riders with Bikers Against Child Abuse chose to visit the Peninsula on Sunday because of the Sidney Street Market and its food trucks. The market is operating out of a temporary location in the parking lot of the Mary Winspear Centre. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Tseshaht Lead Beach Keeper Hank Gus says he’s looking forward to sharing the Broken Group Islands origin story with visitors. Gus has been a Beach Keeper for nine years. (Tseshaht First Nation photo)

Tseshaht First Nation re-opens Broken Group Islands with refreshed Beach Keepers Program

To help sustain the program, tour operators are encouraged to implement a $10 per day per guest fee

Tseshaht Lead Beach Keeper Hank Gus says he’s looking forward to sharing the Broken Group Islands origin story with visitors. Gus has been a Beach Keeper for nine years. (Tseshaht First Nation photo)
Cindy Pendergast, left, of Sidney’s Truth and Alibi cannabis shop heads out to make what was believed to be the first delivery of cannabis in British Columbia, following that service’s legalization July 15. (Photo courtesy Truth and Alibi)

Sidney said to be site of first legal cannabis delivery in British Columbia

Truth and Alibi delivered to a Sidney couple at 9 a.m. sharp July 15 when deliveries became legal

Cindy Pendergast, left, of Sidney’s Truth and Alibi cannabis shop heads out to make what was believed to be the first delivery of cannabis in British Columbia, following that service’s legalization July 15. (Photo courtesy Truth and Alibi)
The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has established a Business Hall of Fame to honour individuals’ contributions to the region’s economy. (Black Press Media file photo)

Business Hall of Fame established to honour contributions to Greater Victoria economy

Selected individuals will be inducted this fall, with a ceremony set for February 2022

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce has established a Business Hall of Fame to honour individuals’ contributions to the region’s economy. (Black Press Media file photo)