A new Indian restaurant, called Royal Bistro, has opened at 111 Jubilee St.
The location formerly housed Fresh Kenny’s restaurant.
Royal Bistro, which serves Indian and Punjabi cuisine along with some Chinese-Indo fusion, is owned by mother-son team Rahul Khokhar and Balwinder Dhaliwal who opened the restaurant just before Christmas.
Khokhar, who was born in Duncan and is a musician when not working at Royal Bistro, said it was always his mother’s life-long dream to open a restaurant so he decided to support her and became her partner in their new enterprise.
Khokhar and Dhaliwal also hired long-time friend and culinary expert Vikram Rawat, who has 30 years cooking experience under his belt, mostly in the Vancouver area, as the head chef at Royal Bistro, and his expertise in the kitchen is increasingly drawing more and more customers to the new restaurant.
“The location is excellent,” Khokhar said. “We spent quite a bit of time and money cleaning and renovating the place and the business is doing well. We say we only need three things to be successful here: good food, cleanliness, and love.”
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A record-breaking 216 nominations, recognizing 138 businesses, organizations, and individuals, have been received for the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious 2025 Black Tie Awards.
The adjudication process is underway to determine the winners in the awards’ nine categories.
The annual Black Tie Awards celebrate local excellence by recognizing outstanding businesses and volunteers in the community.
The categories are Exceptional Customer Experience; Business Achievement; Arts & Culture; Young Entrepreneur; New Business; Community Builder; Environment Excellence; Volunteer of the Year; and Non-Profit Organization.
“A huge thank you to our presenting sponsor, the Cowichan Valley Citizen, for helping us bring this celebration to life,” the chamber said.
“The excitement will all come to a head at the Black Tie Awards Gala on April 11 at the Chemainus Theatre, where we’ll also honour Fatima Da Silva, executive director of Nourish Cowichan, as our Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient. Stay tuned for the finalist announcement, and congratulations to all the nominees; you’re what makes Cowichan amazing.”
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A new brew pub will be opening in the Chemainus Village Square at the former Riot Brewing location.
It will be a brewery featuring a small tasting room and will be called Serious Brewing Co. The new business is owned and operated by the Wayne Procter Group which also owns Vancouver Island-based Serious Coffee.
Riot Brewing Co. opened in Chemainus in 2016 and closed its doors in January 2024 due to financial challenges.
Serious Brewing Co. recently obtained a liquor licence and is preparing its product for sale. Michaela Sale, project manager for Vancouver Island with the Wayne Procter Group, said they hope to be open in a couple of months.
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Life and business coach Chris Wilkinson, who is also a columnist with the Cowichan Valley Citizen, wants to help local businesses with their marketing plans.
Wilkinson said what a lot of businesses lack is a robust marketing plan that is consistently executed.
He said many business owners and leaders get so busy with their daily responsibilities that marketing gets left out or neglected.
“The marketing and social media landscapes are quite saturated these days, and it can be very difficult to capture people's attention,” Wilkinson said. “It pays to get clear and more intentional with how to market more effectively with less stress and resistance.”
The first three local businesses that email Wilkinson from this column will get a complimentary marketing audit from Wilkinson, complete with suggestions on how to boost their impact with their local marketing, to more effectively reach people and gain more clients.
You can contact Wilkinson at info@coachingwithchris.ca.
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Ladysmith’s In the Beantime Café has a new location.
The café, which had operated on High Street for 18 years before the building was sold, has found its new home with an offer of shared space with Plantitude, Ladysmith’s renowned vegan restaurant, at its location on 1st Avenue.
The arrangement allows both businesses to retain their distinct brands and operations while benefiting from shared resources and collaborative opportunities.
The two businesses operate on complementary schedules: In the Beantime provides breakfast and lunch service during the week and weekend mornings, while Plantitude focuses on lunch and dinner service Friday through Sunday.
The cafe’s owners, Campbell and Kristy McIntyre, said their determination to stay in Ladysmith where they’ve built strong ties with the community drove every decision they made in finding a new location.
“We looked at spaces in Duncan and Nanaimo, but our hearts are here,” said Kristy. “This is where our kids grew up and this is where our café belongs.”
