Adding some sugar and spice to offerings

The next time you’re picking up a dozen roses, why not add a dozen cookies as well?

Michelle Baerg, owner of the Window Box Florist is adding a bakery in the space next to her flower shop. The Bake Shoppe will offer cookies, muffins and other baked treats, as well as coffee, tea and sandwiches …Read more

Builders see perfect storm on horizon

Economic forces are lining up against the new home market, say area homebuilders.

With Waterloo Region’s plan to significantly raise development charges, talk of the implementation of a harmonized sales tax (HST), and more restrictions in the recently approved regional official plan (ROP), homebuilders in the area are worried all of the changes will combine to make for a perfect economic storm.

The region’s decision to jack up development charges on new building lots come August was seen as the latest strike against the industry.

“There couldn’t be a worse time in the homebuilding sector to bring forward a new charge of this magnitude. It seems forgotten sometimes that these charges are simply passed through to new homebuyers; it’s not an industry-absorbed charge,” said Brian Blackmere, president of the Waterloo Region Home Builders’ Association (WRHBA). …Read more

Woldemar Neufeld art gets its own gallery

The second floor of the old mill in St. Jacobs – previously the home of retail business – will, as of this summer, be home to an extensive collection of Woldemar Neufeld’s paintings.

The Neufeld Gallery is now open and features its first exhibition: “Woldemar Neufeld: Rural and Urban Landscapes 1928-1982 …Read more

Business as usual through upheaval

Cratered and ripped open, Arthur Street in downtown Elmira is impassable save by foot or heavy machinery. And while this construction is affecting the number of cars coming into Elmira via the town’s main artery, it appears area businesses are faring quite well under the circumstances.

“The construction’s being received really well – we’re very pleased. I have no complaints about the construction at all,” said Krista McBay, owner of Elmira Home Hardware and chair of the Elmira Business Improvement Area (BIA).

“Everyone’s really positive about it: they said that people are coming in, still getting people from Waterloo and they are following the detour signs. The township has done a great job with signage. … Actually, our sales are up.”

When the news broke that the main drag would be closed on a stretch in front of the high school to undergo a $2-million infrastructural overhaul, some merchants in the downtown area worried the work would deter potential customers, especially those …Read more

Expansion provides more room for Comfort

As businesses worldwide struggle to deal with the fallout of a global recession, it appears that some industries are actually growing. Take pet food, for example: more and more people are seeing a connection between healthy diets for their pets and long-term savings, says Chris Schaefer, owner of Creature Comfort Pet Emporium in St. Jacobs.

“It (recession) has had its impact in that people aren’t spending their money as much on luxury items,” she explained. “We’re definitely seeing a strong focus on health, because … people are very conscious of the costs of medical care.”

Consumers of food – both for humans as well as for their pets – are seeing the connection between sound nutrition and healthier bodies in the long run. As a result, they are more willing to spend their money on preventative medicine and nutrition. Many pet owners, Schaefer said, are feeding their animals quality food products, believing that this will reduce the chances of health complications in the future.

Indeed, sales of holistic, homeopathic and herbal, as well as so-called “apawcathary” products have grown in recent years, said Schaefer.

“The pet industry itself certainly is still expanding and growing with research and development.

“To have a good selection as well as bringing in new options, required growth on our …Read more

Funding recognizes need for tech skills

Technical education in Waterloo Region got a huge boost this week as the federal and provincial governments announced funding for Conestoga College in excess of $72 million.

“It’s by far the biggest announcement we’ve had in the history of the college,” said president John Tibbits. “It will provide tremendous opportunity for citizens of this area.”

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced a federal commitment of $38.1 million. Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Leeanna Pendergast announced $10 million in new funding from the province, on top of $24.3 million previously announced.

The funding comes out of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, a two-year, $2-billion investment in infrastructure at post-secondary institutions. The federal and provincial commitments are in addition to $8.1 million recently set aside by the Region of Waterloo.

The money will be directed toward expanding programming at Conestoga’s campuses in Waterloo and Guelph and a new campus in Cambridge. Within seven years, Conestoga expects to have space for an additional 4,000 full-time students, 2,000 more apprenticeship students and more than 100 new programs of instruction. …Read more

Going slow keeps family on the move

Perhaps just as potent a source of nostalgia as a scenic beach or an exotic setting, the food that’s tasted while on vacation is quite often also the source of many fond memories.

For Kitchener’s Jason and Shannon Sweeney, the Tennessee slow-cooked meat they ate during their trips to Florida quickly became linked to the holidays. It was, however, a delicacy they could enjoy only while away.

“We’d go down to Florida in April, we’d eat barbecue and we wouldn’t have it again for a year until we went down again the next time,” Jason Sweeney explained.

Having become great fans of the southern, slow cooking tradition, the Sweeneys lamented not having something similar north of the border.

That all changed, however, when they decided to bring the cooking tradition home through the auspices of S&B Southern BBQ. Now, the Sweeneys will be offering visitors to the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market a variety of slow-cooked meats on Thursdays and Saturdays.

“We kind of got to the point where we were really enjoying it so much that we decided, ‘hey, let’s start researching this,” Sweeney explained.

After numerous trips down south where at “every gas …Read more

A lasting impression, one piece at a time

Good fences may make good neighbours, but the owners of Creative Landscape Depot believe their stone wall makes the situation even better still.
Work started this week on an extension on the dry stone wall that runs across the front of the King Street, St. Jacobs property.

Father-and-son team Monty and Jordan Ward agree that the stone wall fits the heritage of the old farm property the business is located on, and keeps it from looking too industrial.

“As this strip goes more commercial, we can’t just be an industrial basin entering St. Jacobs or the downtown will suffer,” Monty said.

Creative Landscape Depot started several years ago as a landscaping business operating out of Waterloo. After purchasing the two-acre parcel of land in St. Jacobs, they frequently had contractors and gardeners stopping in to ask questions and buy a few pieces.

“We finally made a decision with all this interest that there was a need and an opportunity for another landscape supply depot in the region,” Jordan said.

With all the materials on …Read more

Antiques business subject to variables

Numerous scenic paintings by St. Catharines artist Shirley Ross hang in the entrance to the St. Jacobs Antiques Market, home of the former Waterloo County Antique Warehouse. Although the paintings set a certain mood, they form but a fraction of the articles and artifacts shoppers might find at the St. Jacobs antique hub: visitors to the King Street store can find everything from vintage hockey cards to Canadian pottery and 19th century furniture, said Al Jones, who opened the antique store Apr. 1 along with business partner Jack Alexander.

“Every day is a different day because stuff is being sold, stuff is being bought,” said Alexander.

A stroll though the 22,000-square-foot facility is likely to yield some interesting finds.

“Bobby Hull’s rookie card is worth about $4,000; Bobby Orr’s is three (thousand),” said Jones, noting he has sold such items in the past. …Read more

Rustic charm at heart of new coffee shop

For years, the rustic building at the corner of Ruggle’s and Floradale roads served the community as a family-run general store.

So, when the popular building – in the Ruggles family for generations – went up for sale last fall, Floradale’s own Bonnie Martin seized the opportunity to breathe new life into one of the town’s oldest gems. In its history, the 19th century structure has served as a general store and a post office.

“For years I used to admire this building and I thought it had a lot of features; I used to always tell my girlfriends that I’d love to turn this into a coffee shop,” said Martin, who remembers frequenting the store as a child.
“I used to bike here as a kid and get candy at the counter.”

Martin and many other locals always felt the building would make a great coffee shop, so when it went up for sale, she and her husband Randy voiced interest. …Read more

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