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Business notes: The Society Barbershop & Cafe opens new location

The latest from Cowichan’s business community
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The Society Barbershop & Cafe, located on Kenneth Street, has opened a second location inside the old firehall at 963 Herd Rd. in Maple Bay. Pictured is Society barber Chris Lampson giving a haircut to Darren Aitchison. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

The Society Barbershop & Cafe in Duncan has expanded into Maple Bay.

Owner Ian Smith, who opened the popular barber shop at 191 Kenneth St. in 2017, said he opened up a second location inside the old fire hall at 963 Herd Rd. in Maple Bay about two weeks ago.

He said the cafe section of the Maple Bay shop will open within the next two weeks.

“We’re really busy at the Duncan location so we figured it was the right time to open up a shop in Maple Bay, where a lot of our customers come from,” said Smith, who won the Young Entrepreneur award at the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Black Tie Awards soon after opening the first location.

“It’s the only place in that area where people can get coffee and snacks in the morning.”

Smith said there will be three barbers at the Maple Bay location to start, which will be in addition to the 13 at the shop in Duncan.

“We have a patio there so we’ll have outdoor seating and a place to host music events,” he said.

“The business has done well since we first opened in 2017. All of us who work there are local and there’s a nice local friendly feeling there.”

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The Cowichan Valley Citizen is once again hosting its annual Best of the Valley competition.

The Best of the Valley 2022 is an initiative that allows the newspaper’s readers to vote on who they feel is the best local company, organization, place and event in dozens of categories.

They include the best restaurant, florist, car repair shop, pub, home improvement store and best romantic getaway in the Cowichan Valley.

Participants in Best of the Valley are required to fill out a minimum of 20 nominations for their entry to be valid.

Each complete ballot qualifies the participant to win a $300 gift card for Adam’s Tarp & Tool.

“We’ve experienced a great deal of success over the past few years with Best of the Valley,” said David van Deventer, publisher of the Cowichan Valley Citizen.

“Our readers love to vote on their favourites and we get a great response. I would encourage every business in the Valley to remind your customers and clients to vote. We can’t wait to bring you the results in September!”

Voting ends at midnight on Aug. 25

To check out the contenders and to vote, go to https://cowichanvalleycitizen.secondstreetapp.com/Best-of-the-Valley-2022/

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On Aug. 11, Dairy Queen fans in Duncan are encouraged to continue the 20-year tradition of making miracles happen for children and their families by visiting the local Dairy Queen, located at 328 Trans-Canada Hwy., to celebrate Miracle Treat Day.

Net proceeds from every Blizzard Treat purchased at Duncan’s Dairy Queen on that day will be donated to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, one of 12 Children’s Miracle Network hospital foundations across Canada.

What’s raised local stays local, so every dollar donated from Dairy Queen stores will go directly to the local Canadian children’s hospital foundation that services each community.

In 2021 alone, local children’s hospitals across Canada delivered care to children through almost three million in-person and virtual visits.

Dairy Queen employees, franchisees, volunteers and stakeholders come together throughout the year to help raise funds that allow children’s hospitals to provide the best care possible.

Since the partnership began 38 years ago in 1984, Dairy Queen has become a top contributor to Children’s Miracle Network, with more than $46 million raised to date in Canada alone.

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Impeccable Jewellery, located at 211 Craig St. in Duncan, wants the public to know “It’s Coming”

That’s all it says in the store’s latest ad in the Citizen, and owner Brad Leith said the unique ad campaign is meant to catch people’s curiosity and raise their interest into what is actually coming to Impeccable Jewellery.

The radio ad also features the well-known suspenseful music from the movie Jaws.

But Leith has acknowledged that what is actually coming is the store’s 10th Annual August Sale in which everything in the shop is on sale from Aug. 12-27.

Some items will be reduced by as much as 40 per cent.

Leith said it has been his experience that August is a great month for the jewelry store to hold its annual sale.

“It’s back to school time and a lot of people are on the streets downtown buying school supplies for their kids, and many come through here to check out the sales,” he said.

“There’s also a lot of new products that come out in August, so the sale is a good opportunity for customers to check them out.”



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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