Focus On: Business in Northumberland: Recent Episodes
Northumberland 89.7 FM / CFWN-FM
To better connect businesses locally, we are pleased to introduce a new feature called "Focus On Business In Northumberland". Hosted by Marc Cowin, this daily feature will focus on various local businesses from all around the county as Marc chats with the owners about the challenges and triumphs they have experienced especially since the start of the pandemic.
Jana Crawford and Graham Smith were looking at opening a craft brewery and cider operation and since both had a long time connection with Rice Lake. In 2017 they started to seriously look for a location locally and in July 2018 they finally landed with their present location in Baltimore. After a year and a half of going through the licensing process, they were given approval to manufacture and sell cider in March 2020. Listen as Jana explains the challenges faced not only in starting a new business at what turned out to be the beginning of a pandemic, but how other factors continued to force Rice Lake Hard Cider to be agile and pivot to find a way to get to market. Find out more about Rice Lake Hard Cider here: https://www.ricelakehardcider.ca
Steve Wilkes brought the marketing platform Get In The Loop to Northumberland to make it easier for local businesses to connect digitally with local consumers. Consumers can download a free app to find out which local businesses are connected to Get In The Loop and what their business does and what special promotions may be available for them. Steve launched the Northumberland franchise in March 2020 - 4 days before the initial COVID-19 lock down. 18 months later, the Shop Local idea has really taken hold and Steve is looking forward to having Get In The Loop help to promote the local businesses of Northumberland to the residents and visitors to the County. Find out more about Get In The Loop Northumberland here: https://www.facebook.com/getintheloopnorthumberland
Chantelle Watt decided at her wedding that a possible career as a Wedding Photographer might be in her future. After only a couple of years of trying it out part-time, Chantelle’s contract was ended by her employer while she was on maternity leave and gave her the push to give it a go as a full time pursuit. Chantelle now has a thriving business in not only Wedding photography, but Family Photography and Business Branding as well. Listen as she explains the ups and downs of running your own business during a pandemic time. Find out more about Chantelle Watt Photography here: https://www.chantellewatt.com
George Kallonakis took his concept of a burger challenge that was named after a Greek God and called the Labour of Hercules, and used it as the basis of an entire menu of burgers that matched the personalities of the different Greek deities of Olympus. Opened in July of 2013, fame quickly followed, with being featured on television’s You Gotta Eat Here in 2016, then named Canadian Living’s Best Burger in Canada in 2017, and then becoming Canada’s first Carbon Zero Certified restaurant in 2018. George talks about his inspiration to make the eco-friendly change and what the impact of the pandemic has been to this Port Hope institution. Find out more about Olympus Burger here: http://olympusburger.ca
Local girl Michelle Flay became an RMT through Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2004 and started her career with Serenity Day Spa in Cobourg. She then expanded her experience and worked with sports injury practitioners in Durham Region and Toronto, including members of the Toronto Rock lacrosse team. After getting married and moving to Petawawa and working with the returning troops from Afghanistan, Michelle developed her approach of treating the entire person who suffers from catastrophic injuries and eventually returned home to share this treatment with the residents of Northumberland. Find out more about Holistic Family Wellness Centre here: https://holisticfamilywellness.com
Will took his mother’s family secret hot mustard recipe and decided to market it to Ontario during the pandemic, creating Linden’s Gourmet. Listen as he describes how the interest in food and the kitchen over the last 18 months has benefited this burgeoning condiment company. And if starting a business during a pandemic isn’t enough of a challenge, Linden’s entered the World Wide Mustard competition and won a bronze medal first time out - all of this in less than a year! Find out more about all of their products and Linden’s Gourmet here: http://lindensgourmet.com
Harry Heydon started Blades of Glory in 1994 in Hastings to educate the public about Medieval history and sword fighting. Along with an annual Medieval Festival, Blades of Glory works with Ontario schools to teach kids first hand both in schools and at their educational theme park in Hastings. While the pandemic shut down the shows, Blades of Glory have kept busy by introducing a sword fighting school with classes in Hastings, Oshawa, and Port Hope. Find out more about Blades of Glory here: https://bladesofglory.ca
Erin and Nick Cluley ran coffee shops in Toronto before moving to Port Hope to live. Their next step was open a location in downtown Port Hope...which turned into a coffee pub + bakery in Port Hope...which turned into a coffee pub and bakery in Port Hope + coffee pub in Cobourg. Listen as Erin explains the evolution of Happenstance in Northumberland. Find out more about Happenstance here: https://www.thisishappenstance.com
Derek Sharp explains the recent history of wrestling in the Northumberland area and how Northumberland Pro Wrestling was born in late 2020...only to be brought to a halt after their first event, due to the pandemic. Listen as Derek explains the plans for the future for wrestling in Northumberland as we move forward. Find out more about Northumberland Pro Wrestling here: https://northumberlandpro.com
Krown has been in Northumberland for more than 25 years and Mark Dayman has been involved for almost from the start. Now the owner of the Northumberland location, Mark moved the business from Cobourg to its present location in Port Hope on March 1, 2020 - just in time to be closed for the next 17 weeks. For the next year, Mark describes how he and his sons worked at providing quality rust control for the people and businesses of Northumberland, while staying safe and protecting the health of their customers and themselves. Find out more about Krown Rust Control here: https://www.krown.com/en/locations/canada/ontario/port-hope/william
Maplewood Stables is a Boarding and Lesson Facility just minutes outside of Cobourg. It is owned and run by Jen Burnham who grew up on the family dairy and cash crop farm before she converted a small piece of it to horses. Jen followed her love of horses all through school, taking riding lessons and eventually getting her own real live pony. The business structure was conceived and put in place in March of 2002, and the business was quick to grow. Listen as Jen details how Maplewood Stables is no longer 3 small stalls in the old dairy barn, but two large indoor arenas with 30 stalls in total and 45 horses on the property. Find out more about Maplewood Stables here: https://mwstables.wordpress.com
Retirement living in today’s full-service communities, is a partnership between the residents, the families, the facility and the staff. With care ranging from their James Club (independent living) to the Harmony wing (memory care), Micki McLean discusses the challenges found in providing the best quality of life for some of the most vulnerable in our society while maintaining a vigilance for their health and safety.NOTE: This podcast is the complete interview which was aired as two separate episodes on-air. Find out more about Palisades Gardens here
Katt Baxter has been teaching music lessons for 10+ years. Teaching piano, voice, guitar, and ukulele, Katt has been offering the Music for Young Children program to the area, which teaches keyboard for children and parents. This configuration had them all facing unique challenges during the pandemic. Listen as Katt explains how she adapted her teaching style and continued to foster the learning of music to her students - even for one student who moved to the East coast! Find out more about Katt Baxter’s Studio here: https://kattbaxter.mymusicstaff.com
Toe Beans Cat Cafe is one of only 19 Cat Cafes in Ontario. Lillian Miller discusses how she and her daughter Julie Lockhart-Thompson purchased Toe Beans one week before the entire province went into the first pandemic lockdown. Since then, Lillian and Julie have still managed to find homes for an astonishing 573 cats in less than 18 months. Find out more about Toe Beans Cat Cafe here: http://www.toebeanscatcafe.ca
After growing up on the family farm in Meyersburg, Amanda Twigg found work in the agricultural sector. Returning to her roots Amanda, along with her husband and her parents and Uncle, developed a farm gate business for ethically raised beef, pork, chicken in 2018. Amanda then developed Meal Kits offered at the Codrington Farm Market - a locally produced, less packaged version of the home delivered ready-to-cook meals popularized by people being at home during the pandemic. Find out more about Robin’s Nest Farm here: https://www.robinsnestfarm.ca
Salim Gulamhusein, aka Dr. G., is a dentist in Cobourg. Shortly after a move to a brand new office specifically renovated for his dental practice, his practice faced a forced closure. Dr. G. discusses what it was like for the dental industry during the early days of the pandemic, the challenges faced of looking after urgent cases for patients while remaining ‘closed’, and how the early perception of dentist offices being a dangerous place turned out to be the exact opposite in reality. To find out more about Cobourg Dental Care click here
Once more than 50 franchises strong, Ten Thousand Villages in Canada were forced to close stores across the country. Derrick Cunningham discusses how the Cobourg location began its journey in 2007, and eventually became one of four remaining Ten Thousand Villages stores in the country, and the only one in Eastern Canada. Find out more about Ten Thousand Villages here: https://www.facebook.com/VillagesCobourg/
John O’Leary has been and around food and cooking since high school. After years of cooking in restaurants around the County and beyond, most recently spending 18 years at the Woodlawn Inn as the Executive Chef, John branched out in 2013 to develop his own catering and home delivery, ready-made food business. Listen as John explains the series of events from the start of the pandemic to the eventual closure of the Inn that lead him to decide to turn Everyday Chef’s Best from his ‘side gig’ to his main form of employment. Find out more about Everyday Chef’s Best here:https://www.everydaychefsbest.com
Airnet Wireless was incorporated in 2002, but the journey began in 1998 when Carl Jeptha started to build the County’s only locally owned wireless network. In a truly family run business, daughter Andrea explains how Airnet Wireless developed over the last 20 years and employed not only her father and herself, but her brother and mother as well. Find out more about Airnet Wireless here: https://airnet.ca
For 6 months, the three Rainbow Cinemas in the Northumberland Mall in Cobourg have been closed since before Christmas 2020. Anne Marvin explains the impact that the pandemic has had on the movie theatre industry, how the separate Northumberland Films Sunday program was affected, and how the local business Just Brew It came to Rainbow’s rescue and provided an opportunity to make some revenue by selling the theatre’s popcorn. Find out more about Rainbow Cinemas here
Robert Scozzari is a graphic designer who moved from Hamilton to Campbellford and launched a web design company in 2015. Robert found that the pandemic not only changed the type of work he was doing, but it also provided Inspiring Design an opportunity to simply help out MORE businesses for less. Find out more about Inspiring Design Company here: https://www.inspiringdesign.ca
Janet Evans is an independent Travel Agent who represents Gala Travel from her Port Hope home. Through her 40 years in the industry, she has seen a lot, but this pandemic has been a game changer for the travel industry. Listen as Janet describes the challenges and changes that face future travel both in Canada and abroad.
Sandra Tunstead operates Skye’s Clothing in downtown Cobourg offering women’s clothing, accessories, and giftables. Listen as Dave Tunstead explains about the evolution of their home-based business of providing clothing for seniors in retirement homes to the couple winning a “Win This Space” contest in downtown Cobourg six years ago and opening the store, and how they have had to change their sales tactics during the pandemic. Find out more about Skye’s Clothing here: https://skyesclothingboutique.ca
Durham Farmers’ County Co-Op, better known locally as the Grafton Co-Op has been in business since 1949. While it started out as mainly as farm supply store, it has evolved to be a shopping destination for anyone in Northumberland County looking for supplies and advice for pets, gardens, properties, and gifts. Find out more about Grafton Co-Op here: https://www.durhamfarmerscountycoop.com
Racine Financial is an independent wealth management company that provides services for investment management, insurance, and financial planning. John Racine rebranded his parents’ company in 2014 to focus on working with business owners and those who work in a family business. Listen as John describes how the company has evolved during these challenging time. Find out more about Racine Financial here:https://www.racinefinancial.ca
Denis and Rosemary Orendt moved to Northumberland when Denis started working in Durham Region and Scarborough areas. The family fell in love with the area, and Denis’ experience with water engineering, along with the family’s love of water gardens, blossomed into starting their own thriving business dealing with everything to do with the building and maintenance of ponds. Find out more about Blue Frog Water Gardens here: http://www.bluefrogwatergardens.ca
Stephanie Black left Toronto at the age of 27 and started her own business to be closer to her home in Belleville. Listen as Stephanie talks of her love of living and working in Cobourg, and as she explains the challenges of operating a Denture Clinic during a pandemic.
Zach Copeland grew up in Northumberland having a love of food and cooking with his mother and grandmother. Follow his journey through the restaurant industry and how a fateful trip home in March 2020 for a visit changed Zach’s destiny with food. Find out more about Prep Food Co here: https://www.prepfoodco.com
Shannon Thorndyke has worked with multi-million dollar budgets for all kinds of different companies in her career, from Citibank to large advertising firms to running her own consulting business fight here in Northumberland. Follow Shannon’s journey as she developed Town Marketing’s niche of providing services for smaller and expanding businesses, not only locally but from right across North America, to assist them in expanding into the ever changing world of digital business.
Not only did Mike and Theresa Wilson find the love of the working within the restaurant industry at The Keg in Toronto, but they also found each other! Over the years, they continued to find a definite fit for themselves as restauranteurs in a setting that included water. Listen to the journey that brought the Wilsons to Cobourg’s harbour area to establish this Italian dining experience. Find out more about Cucina Urbana here: https://www.cucinaurbana.ca
Jamie Littlechild learned the print industry from the ground up, and helped to expand his father’s business to include all forms of graphics printing. Join Jamie’s journey as he brought the sign shop from Markham to Northumberland as a one-stop-shop graphic printing business. Find out more about Beyond Signs and Design here: https://beyondsignsanddesign.com/index.html
Lisa Heath started Heath Vintage in 2018 as an antique and vintage furniture and lighting store. When her sister’s restaurant in Newmarket was forced to close in the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic, Lisa convinced Trish to move to Colborne to live and work together. Listen to the sisters discuss the evolution of transforming the antique store into a cafe that incorporates homemade food into the store’s vintage aspect, including older local recipes provided by their customers. Find out more about Heath Vintage & Cafe here:https://heathvintage.ca
John Greenlee started The Mortgage Centre in 2015 and moved into a brand new larger office in October 2019 - just in time to have the office closed to the public in March 2020. Listen to how technology and rising real estate prices has allowed the mortgage business to not only continue remotely, but flourish during the pandemic here in Northumberland. Find out more about The Mortgage Centre here: https://www.jgmortgage.ca
In 2007, Shane and Debbie Nightingale purchased a farm in Campbellford while they continued to commute to the city. In 2009, Shane retired and Debbie convinced him to add four Nigerian Dwarf goats to the farm. Friends from the city kept coming to see the goats, and as Debbie says “the rest is kind of history”. Find out more about Haute Goat here: https://hautegoat.com
After growing up in the Cobourg / Hamilton Township areas, Mary Schultz left to work in Toronto’s hospitality industry. And then 25 years later, Mary returned to the Northumberland area to follow a dream - to open her own cafe. Listen as Mary describes her journey and how it has changed with the pandemic. Find out more about The Black Cat here: https://www.facebook.com/blackcatcobourg
Back in 1978 Eleanor and Ivan Moore took a plot of untamed land and turned it into an apple orchard that now is known not only in Northumberland County, but as a prize winner at local, and the Royal Winter, Fairs. Heidi Behan explains the changes in operating the orchard over the years and how the pandemic changed running an orchard without the Fairs. Find out more about Moore Orchards here: https://www.facebook.com/Moore-Orchards-124335847645281/
Blake and Eileen have spent nearly 40 years spreading love and encouragement in downtown Port Hope. Listen as Blake explains that Holton Flowers is so much more than just a flower store and what it means to both of them and the community. Find out more about Holton Flowers here: https://holtonflowers.com
Listen as Christine Benson takes her 20 year hands-on Art classes and adapts them to fit a COVID-19 world. This included sourcing, making, decorating, and delivering accessible at-home art projects, as well as changing her in-school programs into an on-line world. Find out more about Journey Through the Arts here: http://journeythroughthearts.com
Theresa Rickerby and Heather Haraldsson-Glennie took their friendship and business partnership in the natural pet health field into a new direction by creating a cool little toy store that focused on quality items with engaging toys that last. Forced to deal with a closure just before Easter 2020, Theresa and Heather embark on creating an online storefront, curbside pickup, and delivery throughout Northumberland - all while continuing to run the bricks-and-mortar store as well. Find out more about Spark Toys here: https://www.sparktoys.ca
Marie Miller decided she wanted to start a small batch cultured butter company. On the eve of the launch of her first event in March 2020, all Ontario retail was shut down. Marie pivoted, finding ways to sell her butter while she and her husband put plans together to open a Cafe - at the same time as Lockdown 2.0 started. Listen to find out what was next. Find out more about Lofty Kitchen here: https://lofty-kitchen.myshopify.com
Paul Mintha runs Durham Covers and provides quality hot tub covers all throughout Southern Ontario from his Port Hope office. Paul explains how production delays and cost increases impacted the availability and pricing of hot tub covers to the residents of Northumberland County and Durham Region during the pandemic. Find out more about Durham Covers here: https://durhamcovers.com
Ross and Marie Parlette were looking to plant a nice grove of evergreens on their Hamilton Township farm in the early 1960’s to aid the environment. Learn how this private woodlot evolved into a thriving family business providing Christmas trees for west Northumberland for more than 50 years. Find out more about Barrett’s Christmas Tree Farm here: https://www.barrettstreefarm.com
Jennifer Bogart is not only a published author, but she also runs a local independent bookstore in downtown Cobourg. Listen as Jennifer explains how the local community has rallied around both the bookstore and the Cobourg Library and what the bookstore is doing to help out the Library and book buying public. Find out more about Let’s Talk Books here: https://letstalkbooks.ca
Glenn and Carin Keeling left the fast paced business world of the big city to reconnect with the small town world that Carin was missing. Discover how Northumberland became home to a store with more than 500 single-serve beverages and a new home that has captured the hearts of these owners. Find out more about Just Brew It here: https://www.facebook.com/justbrewitcobourg
Listen as Mike Woods tells us the challenges of a musician who performs, teaches, and runs a recording studio while trying to navigate the changes of the last year. And all of this happens in a rebuilt 1840’s log cabin that was moved to Port Hope from the Quebec border. Find out more about Log Jam Music Studio here: https://logjammusic.com
Theresa Rickerby tells us about her history in the pet food business and how she started Cobourg’s first holistic pet food health store. Marvel as she describes all of the changes and re-imaging of this Cobourg staple that has been looking after local pets needs for more than 20 years. Find out more about All Creatures Great and Small here: https://www.allcreatures.ca
As importers of hand crafted works of art from 7 different countries, listen as Rhonda Cook explains what it is like to operate a tourist destination and unique shopping experience in Port Hope. Find out more about Primitive Design here: https://www.primitivedesignscanada.com
Hear what brought owner Maria Papaioannoy to picturesque Port Hope as she and her husband sought to open another Vape store - and how they found a new place to live at the same time! Maria lets us know what a vape store is and what it takes to run one. Find out more about Ecig Flavourium here
Ever wonder what it would be like to be able to celebrate a wedding or a funeral? Valerie Russell pulls back the curtain on what being an Officiant is, and how a Humanist Officiant is different from other officiants. Find out more about Valerie Russell Humanist Officiant here.
Listen to Katie and Paul Burnham talk about the evolution of the family farm into a produce stand, a Cobourg Farmers’ Market staple, and how it became the large market building that stands between Cobourg and Port Hope and sells fresh produce, baked goods, and all kinds of preserves. Find out more about Burnham Family Farm Market here.
Owner Darren Johns introduces us to all that is authentic hand made Italian chocolate, gelato, and fresh roasted coffee beans as he discusses running his shop in both Port Hope and Cobourg over the last 13 years. Find out more about Mercury Chocolate and Gelateria here.
Learn what brought owner Sam Campbell from the city to the country more than 20 years ago to eventually open up a working horse farm/bed and breakfast/wedding and retreat property. Find out more about Cobblestone Farm Retreat here.
Meet Eve Bumstead as she explains how this paralegal firm, specializing in Mediation and Property Assessment, has grown over time and how they work with clients all over Ontario from their offices in Colborne. Find out more about Bumstead Legal Services here.