Taking Stock: North Coast Business Scene -- September 2016

The summer doldrums and vacation plans at an end, things picked up quite a bit on the city's commercial scene through the months of September.

The month of course ended on a positive note for the local business community with the approval of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project by the Federal government, though the timeline for development of that project would still appear to be unknown, as the Malaysian energy company Petronas now reviews its plans, with the financial conditions for such huge investments seemingly always fluctuating.

And while the Pacific NorthWest announcement certainly dominated the end of the month news cycle, there were other developments in the Prince Rupert commercial sector, from renovations to existing stores to the closure of a national chain store.

Local businesses and organizations were saluted for their work and new opportunities for small business operators also came on the horizon.

Some of our observations on the Commercial and economic scene in the region for September can be found below:

September

The month started off with news of a change at North Pacific Cannery Historical site, the popular stop for residents and visitors as they explore some of the attractions of the region. We outlined the details of a late August news release that announced the departure of Lesley Moore, the General Manager of the historical site.

September saw some interesting notes from the city's retail scene, starting with the reopening of the Salvation Army Thrift Store which had been closed for renovations, the Third Avenue location reopened with its brand new look on September 14th.

However, while the Thrift shop was opening its doors again, word came of another Prince Rupert business set to close them, as Fields in the Rupert Square Mall announced it was closing its North Coast location. The Store Closing sales continue on into the next few days before the brown paper goes up on the windows and doors.

The City's publicly owned communications company went on the hunt for some help in September, posting a job opportunity for an addition to their marketing team based out of the CityWest offices on Third Avenue West.

A pair of Northwest Aboriginal businesses were listed as award winners in September, with Rupert Lawn and Garden and CFNR Radio in Terrace both recognized by the BC Aboriginal Awards Committee, the two businesses will receive the accolades of their peers at a Gala in Vancouver in October.

A new option for Prince Rupert diners made its debut in September, as the Coastal Cafe opened its doors in the downtown core, located on Third Avenue West across from CityWest, the restaurant offers pizza by the slice and recently introduced Halifax style Donairs to its menu options.

Food truck operators in the City have Councillor Barry Cunningham on their side, as the City Council members seeks to get them a break on the current cost of setting up at the Prince Rupert Civic Centre complex.

One of the city's downtown hotels will be getting an exterior makeover, as the Prestige Hotel Prince Rupert received approval from City Council for work that they have planned for the hotel at Sixth Street and 2nd Avenue West.

In early September we took notice of a new bylaw in place in the city that will restrict the number of liquor establishments than can sell liquor in the city, as City Council introduced its new one kilometre rule. Later in September we examined how Prince George appears to have handled the prospect of wine in that city's grocery stores, with a Save-on-Foods location in Prince George offering the store within a store concept.

The mysterious case of the missing shopping carts was examined by the Northern View in September, tracking recent cases in local stores where finding a cart to store your purchases became a bit of a problem.

Northern Savings Credit Union introduced its new local purchasing initiative, encouraging Local artists and crafters to take part in their program that will see the local financial institution select a number of local artisans to provide them with items to be used for corporate giveaways or donations in the community.

Terrace joined Prince Rupert and Smithers as now former destinations on a Hawkair flight schedule, as the Northwest airline based out of Smithers cancelled its daily connection between Terrace and Vancouver.

Prince Rupert's airport was also in the news in September, first with a Grand Celebration of the newly renovated YPR terminal and then at the recent UBCM convention, with recognition of that renovation project, as Mayor Lee Brain received the accolades from the Canadian Wood Council for the creative use of wood that the new terminal makes use of.

The popular Rising Stars program hosted by the Chamber of Commerce is back for another year, matching up would be entrepreneurs with mentors from around the North Coast.

Of course the big news on the North Coast in September was the Federal Government's announcement approving the much anticipated and at times controversial Pacific NorthWest LNG project, an announcement that was greeted very positively by the Prince Rupert business community.

You will be able to find the archive for Taking Stock as a part of our larger page dedicated to the commercial sector of the North Coast found here.

We imagine we probably have missed a few here or there, so if you know of a business having opened, or seen the Going out of business sign appear somewhere in the area, drop us a line at our email account of northcoastreviewpr@yahoo.ca

Or send us a short message through our twitter feed of @CharlesHays