The Little Corner Sandwich Shop from Cobble Hill has opened its second location in Duncan.
Chris Jameson, who co-owns the shop with Clayton Frost, said business has been great since the food truck opened at its location in the parking lot at 277 Government St., next to Ignition Motorsports, on Jan. 29.
He said a post on Facebook in the days before the opening reached thousands of people, with many coming to check it out, and the location near downtown Duncan is “amazing”.
The growing business started as a food truck more than a year ago in Cobble Hill that serves popular home-made comfort foods supplied by a centralized kitchen, and the partners have the same model for their food truck in Duncan.
The Little Corner Sandwich Shop serves specials every day, and the menu includes homemade burgers, macaroni and cheese, and other delicacies considered comfort food, with a variety of tastes including Mediterranean, Mexican and Spanish flavours.
The shop will be permanently on site and open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
Jameson said he and Frost are considering expanding the business even further.
“We recently did an audition on the Dragons’ Den [a CBC television series where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts and products to a panel of Canadian business moguls who have the cash and the know-how to make it happen] and we’re waiting to hear back,” he said.
“We’ll wait to see what happens.”
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Many hungry young people in the Cowichan Valley, and across Canada, will soon be getting meals thanks to a partnership between A&W restaurants and Mealshare, a national social enterprise on a mission to help end youth hunger.
The partnership will be supporting more than 40 different charities in B.C., including Warmland House in Duncan, to provide meals in their local communities.
On ‘Mealshare Mondays’ at A&W restaurants, customers can order a Cheddar Bacon Uncle Burger Combo and one simple healthy meal will be provided to a youth in need through the Mealshare program.
Any day of the week, customers can “Make it a Mealshare” by adding $1 to their order and one meal will be provided to a youth in need.
Meals are provided through Mealshare’s network of 450 local charity partners across Canada, and 80 per cent of Mealshare’s financial support stays in local communities where the Mealshare item was purchased, while 20 per cent goes internationally to Save the Children.
Susan Senecal, CEO of A&W Canada, said the restaurant chain’s national partnership with Mealshare will help it make a bigger difference with A&W’s operators and their teams across the country.
“Local franchisees from coast to coast are excited to be a part of this program because they’ve seen first-hand the needs in their communities and how these programs can provide immediate benefit and support,” she said.
“No child should ever go hungry, especially in a country like Canada, so we’re thrilled that we can be a part of this initiative.”
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The Downtown Duncan BIA is launching its Valentine’s Day Basket Giveaway social media campaign.
The DDBIA will daily post photos on its website of a few items that will be in the gift basket, which includes an incredible selection of items or gift cards from more than 25 downtown Duncan businesses and worth more than $1,000, leading with a boosted post of a picture of the whole basket.
In order to enter to win, individuals need to like, share, and tag friends in comments on these posts.
Each action (like, share, each tag) will count as one entry.
People can enter multiple times on multiple posts to increase chances of winning the basket, which will further magnify the posts.
“On Feb. 11, we will use an online random name picker to draw the winner of the basket and will announce it on social media,” said Elissa Smith, the DDBIA’s office manager.
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In response to the unprecedented economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region, Economic Development Cowichan has developed a series of regional recovery indicators to track progress towards recovery.
The report reveals that some sectors of the Cowichan regional economy have been hard hit by the pandemic, while others are doing well.
Tourism in particular has suffered over the last 10 months.
While employment levels across Vancouver Island have rebounded well, some residents are still struggling.
Affordable housing and overall real estate inventory continue to be issues for the region.
“This series of quarterly dashboards will provide the data needed to make informed decisions and create effective recovery programs tailored to the needs of the Cowichan Valley,” said Barry O’Riordan, manager of EDC.
The Cowichan Regional Recovery Dashboard – January 2021 can be found on the EDC’s website at ecdevcowichan.com.
This is the first in an ongoing series of recovery dashboards that EDC will publish quarterly to help inform and guide the recovery efforts of local government, community organizations, businesses, and others.
The next dashboard will be published in April.
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The non-profit FarmFolk CityFolk will be collaboratively hosting a Virtual Seedy Saturday Conference on Feb. 19-21.
Since 2006, the FarmFolk CityFolk organization has been working closely with vegetable seed growers and seed companies across B.C. to create food systems in the province that are strong, sustainable, and resilient.
Seed savers from across the province will join FarmFolk CityFolk in delivering a pandemic-friendly opportunity to connect with B.C. community members and organizations, seed businesses, non-profit organizations and learn about seed saving.
Speakers and sessions will include seed saving and gardening education, movie screening, master gardeners Q & A, local community discussions, an exciting keynote speaker, poetry readings, and more.
Stay tuned for registration details and conference schedule at http://www.bcseeds.org/2021-bc-seedy-saturday-virtual-conference/
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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