By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: April. 13, 2012
There are changes afoot on Cleveland Ave.
The Kid’s Place is closing down, Sequence Board Supply is moving to a new location downtown, Chef Big D’s is expanding, and there is another business waiting to be unveiled soon.
In interviews with Squamish Reporter, each business offered a unique perspective on their own situation and on the drift of things downtown.
Not surprisingly, Chef Big D’s owner Darren was the happiest, his words dripping with confidence and robust energy.
As he watched customers line up, he offered a forceful rebuttal to the oft-repeated view that downtown is dead.
“Look, if you have something good to offer, if you have great service, if what you are selling is affordable, then people will come,” he said.
Chef Big D will be adding 18 more seats and expanding to Kid’s place location by June 1.
Big D has been in downtown Squamish for almost a decade, and David doesn’t believes too much in the-economy-is-bad-so-no-one-is-spending argument.
“Locals or tourists, we get everyone here,” he said smiling.
It’s not so much sunny side up next door at The Kid’s Place which is closing down at the end of April.
Everything here is marked 50 per cent down for the clearance, and owner Carolyn Christie is busy dealing with a steady stream of young mothers with tots in tow.
The store, a consignment store for kids clothing, did good business for about 13 years, and with the recent influx of young families, it seemed to be booming.
It turns out that wasn’t the case.
“I don’t want to blame anyone, Christie said, with a tinge of sadness and resignation.
She said more and more people were turning online for kids clothing, and some young moms have created real and virtual networks to shop for kids clothing that affected her business.
“I guess I’m old school and I never really upgraded my skills,” she said.
Some young moms shopping at the shop were surprised by the news of the impending closure. With the economy, you would think that a store like this would be doing well, said Stormy Lee.
Some said Christie could have done a better job with making a store a more inviting presence, adding a dash of vibe and colour, and making it a tad bit more organised than it is now.
At the Sequence Board Supply, the owner Mahmoud Haghighi, is both relieved and happy to move his store to a smaller location next to RBC Bank.
He pays $4,000 in rent for the 18,000 sq-ft space, a sum of money that has become increasingly hard for him to pay. At his new location, he would pay only $1,500 for a much smaller space, but he’s looking forward to move there on June.1
“I’m just so happy and excited,” he said, sounding relieved.
A few years ago, he had four people working for him, but now he stood alone in the store, waiting for teenagers that don’t come as often as they used to.
Haghighi says his guess is they don’t have well-paying jobs in the town, which leaves little extra money in their hand to shop around.
Squamish needs jobs, he said.
heather says
I think there are many businesses who are waiting for warmer weather and for the Farmers’ Market to start again. At least that brings more traffic and pedestrians downtown …. It is distressing that so many entrepreneurs go into debt after attempting to run a profitable business in Squamish.
congrstulationsDiane Sherlock says
Congratulations chef big d. I really lovr your restaurant and service is wonderful
Elliot says
Chef D’s, the dollar store of restaurants! It’s a well known pattern in times of depression that the buyer lowers their expectations to the level they can afford. It’s a shame that we celebrate this and color over the real problem; Crap economy with no higher-level stewardship…
theresa negreiff says
Ouch! I think Chef D’s serves up good food and always really pleasant service. Congrats to them on their expansion. And best wishes to all the business owners mentioned, running your own business takes bravery and smarts just to get started never mind be successful – you have my admiration.
PS – it would be nice if people used their first and last names when posting to blogs – they might be more thoughtful with comments if they did.
Brad Hodge says
Glad to see some positive news on Cleveland Ave. Unfortunately 2nd Ave. is beginning to look like a ghost town. I’d like to expand and 2nd Ave. would be alright, but the rents given the size of the town, the economy and, well, 2nd Ave. itself — it just doesn’t make any sense at all.
Craig Davidiuk says
Thanks for the business news coverage. Love it! Personally, I think 80% of the businesses downtown need to diversify and create revenue streams outside of retail (ie- online). Either that or use online models to create buzz and awareness about their business. The brew pub is an amazing example. They have been developing beer sales all over western Canada, expanded merchandise line etc. and could possibly start selling merchandise online. Year after year I see businesses open up and wonder if anyone has actually done any cash flow projections or done a survey to see if that service is needed. There is a huge difference between thinking your business is a good idea and actually proving it. Business owners need to constantly evolve their skills and try to take a step out of the day to day to focus on training, growth and creating efficiencies. You can’t retire on a retail offering alone I’m afraid. The re-sale price of a retail operation is just too low to justify the thousands of hours an owner puts in. Retail biz owners need an ace up their sleeve in order to survive. All of these issues point to a lack of available and relevant offerings from the Chamber, The District and Community Futures. None of the current economic development activity seems to be focusing on helping our current business owners get better at what they do. Our community has an abundance of available peer to peer trainers and leaders. We just need to make them available to local biz owners. Squamish business owners need a place to workshop issues and get ideas.