Budget Pharmacy on Trunk Road will be celebrating its first anniversary on May 20 with treats and sales.
Pharmacist and owner Dhaval Patel said there will be cakes and cupcakes served to customers throughout the day, and a sale of 25 per cent for over-the-counter items.
He said opening his own pharmacy was a long-time dream of his, and even opening Budget Pharmacy in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t dissuade him.
“I was a little worried at first, but once people started noticing our prices and services, we received a good response shortly after we opened,” Patel said.
“Word spread quickly and we were so happy to see such an overwhelming response from the community. We also took second place in [the Cowichan Valley Citizen’s] Best in the Valley in the pharmacy category and we were pleased with that as well. We’ll celebrate our successful first year with our customers on Friday.”
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The MonGrillian Restaurant in Duncan will be closing on May 20.
In a statement, owners Ha and Anna said they are retiring and would like to thank Duncan and the Cowichan Valley community for supporting their businesses at Berkey’s Corner for the last 26 years, most recently as The MonGrillian Restaurant for the past 12 years.
“It has been a pleasure serving the community and sharing our dining tables with you,” Ha and Anna said.
“We have met so many great people and have made so many friends over the last two and half decades. We appreciate all the love and support we have received. We will miss seeing your faces daily. The restaurant’s last service will be on Friday. The laundromat will continue to operate under new management. Thank you.”
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Blue Grouse Estate Winery is proud to announce their April fundraising campaign resulted in a $26,587 donation to Nourish Cowichan Society, a Cowichan Valley charity that offers meals and food hampers for children in 18 regional schools.
The donation from Blue Grouse will allow Nourish Cowichan to provide 13,250 meals for kids and their families.
For the third consecutive year, in honour of BC Wine Month, Blue Grouse asked consumers to buy its wines with a commitment to donate $1 for every bottle sold to Nourish Cowichan.
In addition, every dollar raised from bottle sales was matched by the winery’s proprietors, the Brunner family.
With the support of their wine club, sales teams, and trade partners, the winery closed the month with 10,734 bottles sold, marking its best sales month ever and its biggest donation to Nourish Cowichan.
For those who wished to donate without the purchase of alcohol, the winery set up a fundraising page on Canada Helps, which raised nearly $5,000 from friends of the winery and members of the community.
“Over the last three years, our family has become increasingly aware of the important work done by Nourish Cowichan,” said Paul Brunner, owner of Blue Grouse.
“We couldn’t be happier knowing that our Blue Grouse team is as passionate about this cause as we are. The team puts a lot of effort into our campaign and without them, we would not have exceeded this year’s $25,000 goal. We hope to make this fundraising campaign a Blue Grouse tradition so that we can help more and more families in our community in the years to come.”
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Business at Vancouver Island Barber Co., located at 60 Queens Rd. in Duncan, has been so good since the shop opened last year that it has expanded.
Owner and barber Josh Neufeld said he has moved from his 400 sq. ft. location to a larger site, with 1,000 sq. ft. right next door and at the same address.
He said he has also brought in three new barber chairs to add to the previous two, and has hired three new barbers to work alongside him.
Neufeld, who had worked for The Society Barbershop & Cafe before stepping out on his own last year, said that as his business expands, he knows he made the right choice to open Vancouver Island Barber Co.
“I attribute the success of the business to great customer service and quality of our hair cuts and styles,” he said.
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A new east Indian restaurant, called Fresh Tandoori Flavour, has opened at 5838 Trans-Canada Hwy. in Duncan.
The business is the fourth in a chain of Fresh Tandoori Flavour restaurants, with the other locations in Royal Oak, Sidney and Oak Bay.
Fresh Tandoori Flavour is a family-owned business begun by Ranjit and Jasbir Bains.
The restaurant has a broad assortment of appetizers and main dishes to please even the most discriminating palate.
From butter chicken to curry goat, to vegetarian and seafood, you will find that you want to come back time after time to try something new.
Sita Bains, owner of the Duncan location, said business has been growing since the restaurant opened about a month ago.
“People are really enjoying our food and service,” he said.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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