New Kelowna store not poppycock
Miriam Halpenny - Oct 09, 2020 - Biz Releases

Kelowna’s first ever British specialty grocery store has opened its doors.

Limey The British Shop’s official grand opening took place Thursday with Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran cutting the ribbon.

“It just felt like it was a good time for some good news and people have just been so into the whole idea,” owner Jules Galloway said. “I came to Kelowna with my family in 2009. We came from Hampshire in the U.K., and we came straight to Kelowna, which is apparently quite rare, and just absolutely loved it. Definitely home from the day we arrived.”

Galloway says she was thrilled when Basran decided to attend the ribbon cutting.

“Theres 5,600 small businesses that went out of business since the beginning of COVID, and I thought he might be interested in knowing about this new business and he jumped on it straight away,” Galloway said.

So why is the store called Limey The British Shop?

“Limey is a name given to English people. A few hundred years ago it was actually a name given to them because the sailors were forced to drink lime juice to keep scurvy at bay. So it could be seen as a derogatory term, but because I’m English I can get away with it,” Galloway said with a laugh.

Upon entering the store, you might see some unfamiliar chocolates, chips (also known as crisps), cooking ingredients, salad cream and more.

“Everybody is so obsessed with salad cream. I mean, the Canadians are,” Galloway said. “It’s what you call coleslaw over here, but it’s much more creamier and delicious.”

And while opening a business is a challenge on its own, doing it during a global pandemic can be even crazier. But Galloway says she’s ready to take on the risk.

“We just thought it was something fun for people right now, and I think that the response on social media particularly was just so incredible that I just thought, let’s just take a bit of a risk on it. So hopefully it’s going to pay off. We’ll soon see,” she said.

COVID-19 protocols have been set in place.

“We have signage, we have a maximum occupancy of nine people within the shop … social distancing within the store, and we’re all trained on what needs to happen—wipe down between customers, and we sanitize the baskets before we put them back,” said Galloway, adding masks are not required to enter the store but are encouraged.

Limey The British Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sundays and statutory holidays. It is located in the Landmark District at 1882 Dayton Ave.


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