Scott Longyear and Krystal Poirier have never been so busy since they opened up Carmanah Pizza in Lake Cowichan on Jan. 19.
The couple, who have no formal restaurant experience, decided the time was ripe for Lake Cowichan to have its first restaurant dedicated to pizzas, and their intuition has paid off in spades.
They have been selling more than 100 pizzas a day since they opened, and the crowds are showing so signs of letting up anytime soon.
“I’ve spent most of my working life working as a millwright, and Krystal works in a doctor’s office, but we decided that we wanted to open a pizzeria in this community,” Longyear said.
“It’s certainly paying off. We really grossly underestimated the demand for pizza in the area.”
Tea Farm takes home top prize in Island Awards
Westholme Tea Farm in the Cowichan Valley has won top prize in the Manufacturing Business of the Year category at the 17th annual Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards.
Co-owned by Margit Nellemann, Westholme is an 11-acre organic farm that specializes in teas that are increasingly recognized locally and around the world.
Nellemann said she was “very excited” to take the top prize in the category at the awards ceremony, which was held on Jan. 26 in Victoria.
“We really didn’t expect to win,” she said.
New JYSK store to open in Duncan this year
The retail furniture store JYSK has confirmed that plans are in the works to open its first location in Duncan.
JYSK spokesman Terry Addington said the new store is expected to open sometime this year in a location that has yet to be announced.
JYSK is Danish-based and sells household items such as mattresses, furniture and exterior decor.
The retail chain currently has more than 2,300 stores in 41 countries.
“We’re still not sure of the date of the opening because it’s dependent on the timing of the landlord to do his construction, but we’re definitely opening,” Addington said.
Get ready to Dine Cowichan in Feb., March
The Duncan/Cowichan Chamber of Commerce is launching the region’s first Dine Cowichan program, which will run from Feb. 24 to March 12.
Modelled after the Dine Out Vancouver Festival and Victoria’s Dine Around and Stay in Town, Dine Cowichan encourages dining out at local restaurants during the post-Valentine’s Day seasonal slow down.
Participating restaurants will provide enticing, fixed-price menu items during Dine Cowichan events.
Menus will be promoted through the Chamber and Tourism Cowichan’s websites, via social media and in the Cowichan Valley Citizen.
Get your nominations in for Top 20 Under 40
Nominations are being sought for the fourth annual Top 20 Under 40 Business and Community Achievement Awards.
The annual black-tie gala dinner and awards presentation recognizes the Island’s best and brightest business and community leaders under the age of 40.
Anyone can nominate entrepreneurs, executives, managers and professionals in public, private and non-profit sectors for an award.
Nominations are based on such values as achievement, experience, innovation, leadership and community involvement.
The deadline for nominations is Feb. 15., and the gala will be held at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo on April 2.
Nomination forms and any other information about the event are available at www.20under40.ca
Robert.Barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com