Local Business

Yvan Charette, owner of the Haney Public House, is the new president of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees, ABLE BC. (Special to The News)

Lower Mainland restaurateur head of ABLE BC

Yvan Charette was voted president of agency representing bars and private liquor stores across B.C.

Snow on Highway 5 early morning April 5, 2022 southbound at Zopkios Rest Area, near the Coquihalla Summit, looking southwest. (DriveBC)

Storm warning still in effect on Coquihalla Highway with more flurries forecast

‘Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve,’ says Environment Canada warning

Fields along Tolmie Road on Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford were still flooded on Dec. 7, 2021. (Vikki Hopes/Abbotsford News)

Evacuation order lifted for south portion of Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford

Orders have now been rescinded for three of the four areas impacted by flooding

Jordan Froese, with son Mitchell, points to salmon in flooded yard on Chilliwack River Road. (Prossy Froese photo)

B.C. researchers, advocates consider impacts of catastrophic flooding on Fraser River salmon

Stranded and trapped salmon seen swimming in yards, trapped on railway tracks, trails, in ditches

Jordan Froese, with son Mitchell, points to salmon in flooded yard on Chilliwack River Road. (Prossy Froese photo)
Anita’s Organic Mill co-owner Taylor Gemmel outside the Chilliwack location. (Michelle Gemmel submitted file photo)

Nature’s Path acquires majority interest in Chilliwack organic food business

Largest organic cereal and snack maker buys into Anita’s Organic Mill

Anita’s Organic Mill co-owner Taylor Gemmel outside the Chilliwack location. (Michelle Gemmel submitted file photo)
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

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)
(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

(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)
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

Honey / Kevin Mills Photo
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