Local Business

Victor Smith, seen here with a Farmers’ Market sign, is the new president of the Hope Chamber of Commerce, and is spearheading a Chamber reboot to create more income for local business so they can, in turn, give back to the community. (Sarah Gawdin/Hope Standard)

Hope Chamber gets much needed reboot

The Chamber has gone from 3 to 45 members since becoming active again

(From left to right) MP Brad Vis, PowerWood managing director Jake Power, MLA Kelli Paddon and District of Kent Mayor Sylvia Pranger prepare to cut the ribbon to celebrate PowerWood’s grand opening in Agassiz on Wednesday, July 7. See more photos online at www.agassizharrisonobserver.com. (Adam Louis/Observer)

PHOTOS: PowerWood’s grand opening celebrated in Agassiz

The company was established in Coquitlam in 1995

Honey / Kevin Mills Photo

Engineering couple buzz from corporate jobs to honey farming in Mission

Husband-and-wife team at Viewcrest Farms leasing land from District of Mission for more beehives

A lumber planer has been installed at the former Metric Modular site as PowerWood works on moving from Surrey to Agassiz. Established in 1995, the red cedar product manufacturer will have plenty of room to grow in Agassiz, said co-owner Jake Power. (Adam Louis/Observer)

Surrey cedar processor PowerWood moving to Agassiz

The company ships red cedar projects all over the world

A lumber planer has been installed at the former Metric Modular site as PowerWood works on moving from Surrey to Agassiz. Established in 1995, the red cedar product manufacturer will have plenty of room to grow in Agassiz, said co-owner Jake Power. (Adam Louis/Observer)
The first cruise ship of the 2019 season – the Celebrity Eclipse – docks in Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)

Tourism spending in Canada dropped by almost 50 per cent in 2020

Tourism-related jobs dropped by almost 29 per cent

The first cruise ship of the 2019 season – the Celebrity Eclipse – docks in Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)
Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel closed for three months in late 2020, early 2021, to undergo renovations in leveraging slower hotel traffic because of COVID-19 restrictions. A new report from Statistics Canada find many businesses in the accommodation and food services sector are bracing for another tough year. (Courtesy of Fairmont Empress hotel)

Survey finds Canada’s hospitality industry has low expectations for year ahead

Almost 87 per cent of businesses in accommodation and food services report lower revenues in 2020

Victoria’s Fairmont Empress hotel closed for three months in late 2020, early 2021, to undergo renovations in leveraging slower hotel traffic because of COVID-19 restrictions. A new report from Statistics Canada find many businesses in the accommodation and food services sector are bracing for another tough year. (Courtesy of Fairmont Empress hotel)
Members of the Nations Creations staff inside the company’s building on Pioneer Avenue. (Nations Creations/Contributed)

Seabird Island-owned Nations Creations coming to Agassiz

Seabird Island purchased the company last year and aims to continue its social enterprise past

Members of the Nations Creations staff inside the company’s building on Pioneer Avenue. (Nations Creations/Contributed)
Mountainview co-owners Adam and Danielle Keil and their children stand outside Mountainview Brewing. Hope’s first microbrewery has been several years in the making as they continue to create new beers, many of which have cheeky nods to their B.C. roots. (Photo/Mountainview Brewing/Kayla Lee Artistry)

Inside Mountainview Brewing: Owners reflect on first months as Hope’s first microbrewery

Mountainview keeps trucking through the winter months, looking forward to summer

Mountainview co-owners Adam and Danielle Keil and their children stand outside Mountainview Brewing. Hope’s first microbrewery has been several years in the making as they continue to create new beers, many of which have cheeky nods to their B.C. roots. (Photo/Mountainview Brewing/Kayla Lee Artistry)
Fraser Valley Regional District office on Cheam Avenue in Chilliwack reopening with restrictions in place as of Oct. 16, 2020. (Paul Henderson/Chilliwack Progress file)

FVRD to reopen corporate office on a limited basis

Fraser Valley Regional District visitors will be screened and asked to maintain physical distancing

Fraser Valley Regional District office on Cheam Avenue in Chilliwack reopening with restrictions in place as of Oct. 16, 2020. (Paul Henderson/Chilliwack Progress file)
Sam Rytter paints a parking bollard in front of a strip of businesses off Mill Street on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. He’s been volunteering with elbow grease for the past several Sundays to spruce up downtown Chilliwack. (Jessica Peters/ The Progress)

Volunteer cleaning crew using elbow grease to improve downtown Chilliwack

Sunday morning cleaning sessions tackle drug mess, excrement, chipping paint around business area

Sam Rytter paints a parking bollard in front of a strip of businesses off Mill Street on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. He’s been volunteering with elbow grease for the past several Sundays to spruce up downtown Chilliwack. (Jessica Peters/ The Progress)
Nancy Hill, left, and Arlene Owen volunteer at the Boston Bar and North Bend thrift store on Tuesday’s and Saturdays. For them, it’s about helping the community and meeting everyone that comes through the doors looking for a find. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard

‘Something for everyone’: Thrift shop in North Bend is run by and for the community

Inside one of the Fraser Canyon’s shops giving old stuff a new lease on life

Nancy Hill, left, and Arlene Owen volunteer at the Boston Bar and North Bend thrift store on Tuesday’s and Saturdays. For them, it’s about helping the community and meeting everyone that comes through the doors looking for a find. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard
Stephen Jagger, co-founder of the real estate startup addy, stands outside the Starbucks at Yale and Airport in Chilliwack in July. The company is bringing the building online as an investment option for small investors in August, 2020, (Submitted photo)

Real estate startup opens market to small investors in Chilliwack

New company uses crowdfunding to make real estate investing more accessible to all

Stephen Jagger, co-founder of the real estate startup addy, stands outside the Starbucks at Yale and Airport in Chilliwack in July. The company is bringing the building online as an investment option for small investors in August, 2020, (Submitted photo)
Chickie Blakeborough is surrounded by ceremonial blankets, both her designs and those she has brought in, at her new store at Chawathil First Nation. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard

‘Chickie’s’, store with Indigenous designs and clothing, opens at Chawathil

Chickie Blakeborough is busy bringing in art, clothing to her new venture at her home at Chawathil

Chickie Blakeborough is surrounded by ceremonial blankets, both her designs and those she has brought in, at her new store at Chawathil First Nation. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard
A film crew will be in Hope for around two weeks and are looking for extras for the film ‘A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn.’ Pixabay photo

Film crew shooting in Hope in late July, looking for extras

‘A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ is looking for extras for a local shoot July 20 to 31

A film crew will be in Hope for around two weeks and are looking for extras for the film ‘A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn.’ Pixabay photo
Outdoor markets not going ahead in Hope this summer

Outdoor markets not going ahead in Hope this summer

Concerns around health of vendors, lack of tourism factor into keeping markets closed this season

Outdoor markets not going ahead in Hope this summer
A couple at their ceremony at The Falls Golf Course in Bridal Falls. The golf course has seen about half its 2020 summer weddings cancelled or postponed, indicative of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having across the wedding industry. Leanne Sims Photography

‘We just have to keep going’: Smaller weddings with bigger hearts ahead as weddings adapt to COVID-19

A struggling hospitality industry wary but hopeful of future amid industry-shaking changes

A couple at their ceremony at The Falls Golf Course in Bridal Falls. The golf course has seen about half its 2020 summer weddings cancelled or postponed, indicative of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having across the wedding industry. Leanne Sims Photography
Carli Spielman runs Wild Rabbit Flowers, an event floral studio specializing in weddings, from her home studio and garden in Hope. Grief and shock were how she described the first few weeks of the pandemic and its effect on the wedding industry. Submitted/Wild Rabbit Flowers photo

‘Love is not cancelled’: Upper Fraser Valley wedding businesses prep for meagre summer season

Small, intimate ceremonies dominate this summer, with industry looking at a monster year in 2021

Carli Spielman runs Wild Rabbit Flowers, an event floral studio specializing in weddings, from her home studio and garden in Hope. Grief and shock were how she described the first few weeks of the pandemic and its effect on the wedding industry. Submitted/Wild Rabbit Flowers photo
Davide Pacifici says Dolce Gelato, located near the White Rock Pier, will remain open for another month. (Aaron Hinks photo)

Popular White Rock gelato shop to close after 25% rent increase

Landlord says there should be some gratitude for the 20 years of discounted rent

Davide Pacifici says Dolce Gelato, located near the White Rock Pier, will remain open for another month. (Aaron Hinks photo)
Reporter’s View: Signs of life in Hope’s hub for local independent business

Reporter’s View: Signs of life in Hope’s hub for local independent business

After a relatively desolate few weeks, signs of life are popping up…

Reporter’s View: Signs of life in Hope’s hub for local independent business
Owners of Hope Mountain Cafe on 3 Avenue and Wallace Street Jennifer Lee, left and Peter Jung are taking a cautious approach to re-opening, starting with take-out only. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard

COVID-19 business listing: Hope and area

Find out which stores are open and how to support those who are feeling the effects of the pandemic

Owners of Hope Mountain Cafe on 3 Avenue and Wallace Street Jennifer Lee, left and Peter Jung are taking a cautious approach to re-opening, starting with take-out only. Emelie Peacock/Hope Standard