OK Builders shutting down
An Okanagan-wide building supply company is closing its doors. OK Builders Supplies Ltd. has announced its closing its builder centres and masonry division locations in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton. The family-owned business, headquartered in Kelowna, has been in operation for 65 years. OK Builders will continue to operate the retail outlets as they wind down to […]
Starbuds still in Ontario mix
A Kelowna-based company didn’t capture one of 25 cannabis retail licences in Ontario’s lottery last week, but it has a chance to get into the market through a partnership with one of the winners. Starbuds Canada, which last summer secured real estate locations in Whitby, Ont., and Windsor, Ont., in anticipation of the lottery, was […]
Costco relocating to Westside
It’s official. Costco will be relocating its Kelowna store to the Westside. Castanet has learned the retail giant has purchased a number of properties on Westside Road, just off Highway 97, for the new store. The property is on Westbank First Nation lands. Surveyors have apparently already been on the property. It’s been no secret Costco […]
Dine Around off and running
Dine Around Thompson Okanagan is back for another year. The official launch party was held at Okanagan College in Kelowna Tuesday evening and attracted more than 300 people. The kickoff featured a stand-up reception, allowing guests to sample food, wine and beer booths. “This festival is great for restaurants as we help promote their businesses during what has […]
Kelowna’s prices still rising
Despite the recent cooling of the real estate market in Kelowna, prices continued to climb in 2018. The recently released Royal LePage House Price Survey found the aggregate home price in Kelowna rose 3.6 per cent to $650,438 when compared to the fourth quarter in 2017. The median price of a two-storey home increased 2.5 […]
Taco shop gets new owners
A downtown Penticton staple has new owners. Tacos Del Norte has sold to a pair of cousins, including Nick Dosantos, a 25-year-old Osoyoos native fresh out of business school. In addition to being fed them regularly by his grandparents, he grew up crossing the border multiple times a week for tacos. “We always had to […]
Interior loses arthritis doc
The only Interior B.C. doctor specializing in the treatment of juvenile arthritis has retired, leaving young families forced to make regular trips to Vancouver while the specialist’s replacement is tied up in red tape. Dr. Katherine Gross has been practicing general paediatric medicine in Penticton for 28 years, along with a subspecialty of paediatric rheumatology. “It’s […]
Pot shop waits on province
It’s been almost a month since Lake Country councillors changed their minds and approved the municipality’s first cannabis retail store, but the province has yet to give its final stamp of approval. While Lake Country’s council initially denied Compass Cannabis Clinic’s variance application to open their retail store within a 400-metre buffer of a nearby daycare, they approved the store in […]
Replant window over soon
Okanagan fruit growers are being reminded that they have until the end of January to apply for replant funding through the provincial government. Fruit like honeycrisp, ambrosia and pink lady apples, along with late-season cherries, are popular both in B.C. and around the world. B.C. fruit growers produced 137,600 tonnes of apples, cherries, peaches, plums/prunes, […]
Save your business money
If you run a business and would like to save a little money here and there, the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce might have something to help you. The chamber’s quarterly breakfast next week will focus on energy efficiency. BC Hydro business energy advisor Ben Gardiner will make a presentation that will include tips on […]
