Friday, August 4, 2017

Taking Stock: North Coast Business Scene June/July 2017

The summer months seem to have provided for a lull in the news developments out of the commercial sector, leaving us to combine our notes for the first two months of the summer season.

Among some of the observations for the month of June and July was the influx of tourists through an increase cruise ship port calls into the summer, some increased investment by CityWest across the region, as well as a couple of festive occasions of note the popular Cow Bay Day festival for that shopping area near the Atlin Terminal and the Intertidal Music Festival held at the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site.

The major news of the summer so far however  was the cancellation of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project proposed for Lelu Island, what long term impact that decision may have on the business community in Prince Rupert remains to be seen, but it certainly could send a chill into investment plans for the short term period.

Our review of the Commercial and economic scene in the region for the months of June and July can be found below:

July

Transportation to and from Prince Rupert received a new boost as Lax Kw'alaams introduced its new community bus to service in July, the vital link between the two communities brings residents of Lax Kw'alaams into to town for a range of reasons and should also provide some benefits for the city's commercial operators.

A stretch of the city's downtown shopping district received a bit of a makeover in July as Marcan construction rebuilt the city's sidewalk infrastructure in the block from Fulton Street to just beyond the Bargain Shop.

It's tough enough to make a go of business these days without someone arriving at your store to take your money, July found the RCMP investigating an armed robbery at the west side store PJ's Park Avenue Foods.

One of Prince Rupert's business success stories, PAC 10 Tutoring introduced their popular summer Camp program in July, providing some spare time options for parents and their children through to August.

Music filled the air in Port Edward in July as the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site hosted the Intertidal Music Festival.

Prince Rupert based Northern Savings joined in on the province wide call for donations for Wildfire relief for those affected by the Cariboo Wildfires.


In Prince Rupert, CityWest shared their news when it comes to expanded office hours and the introduction of a new Digital TV service for customers.

Works of art will be the featured attraction throughout the downtown core through the Summer with the launch of the Third Avenue Art Project in July.

The city's Cruise Industry moved into the heart of the summer Cruise season in July, with a string of high profile port calls bringing large crowds into the city's streets and shopping districts.

A long time fixture on Third Avenue was saluted by Northern Savings Credit Union in July, with Fashion Tailoring hailed for their work in the community.

Prince Rupert's Chamber of Commerce members had a chance to hit the links and do a bit of socializing in July as the Chamber hosted their annual Beans n Jeans Golf Scramble.

Norther Savings released the results of the Board of Directors election, sharing the news as to who will steer the Northwest financial services organization for the year ahead.

June

The City's Cow Bay shopping district put the focus on fun in late June, hosting their annual Cow Bay Day, with many of the activities centred in the parking lot between Johnny's Machine Shop and the shops leading to the Atlin Terminal.

Terrace based radio station CFNR received some welcome news in June, as the CRTC approved their application to launch a new radio station to serve the Greater Vancouver region in 2018.

Local businesses and contractors were among those who found success in securing business with the City of Prince Rupert in 2016, with the City releasing its list of Supplier payments for 2016 with over 22 million dollars spent by City Hall both in Prince Rupert and beyond.

Air travel opportunities to the region increased by one flight in June, with Air Canada announcing the return of the mid day flight to and from YPR.

A full review of the the trends and developments in business for 2017 can be found on our Commercial Sector archive page 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

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