Taking Stock: North Coast Business Scene: July 2019

With but only a few weeks until the unofficial end of summer and the Labour Day weekend, we find that the usually laid back dog days of summer were rather active for the month of July, with a fair number of items of note from the last thirty days surrounding the commercial sector.

The tourism sector was featured a few times in the month, whether from news out of the City's Marina or the impact of the week long shutdown of the Alaska Ferry connection between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan.

Visitors to the city from the cruise ships had a new destination to check out for local goods, as Hecate Strait and Ecotrust Canada opened the doors to their Trading Coast project for 2019.

A new local salon opened its doors in July, with Le's Lovely Nails locating along the 600 block of the Third Avenue area, while one block to the east, Prince Rupert edged ever closer to one day perhaps seeing the opening of one of our proposed cannabis retail locations.

The Gitga'at Development Corporation was also finding much to do through the summer, opening a new business in Prince Rupert and expanding on some ambitious plans for Hartley Bay.

And the very future of the downtown core was also up for a check up, with a four day planning session held in July which charted the many options ahead to re-invent much of the downtown region of the city.

Those themes and many others, can be be found as part of our review of the Commercial and economic scene in the region for the last month below:

July

The waterfront of Hartley Bay may see some significant additions, as the Gitga'at Development Corporation outline an ambitious program to create a hotel and restaurant for the First nation community south of Prince Rupert.

Lax Kw'alaams cable subscribers were in the midst of some equipment changes in late July, offering more High Definition options and replacement of obsolete equipment.

The suspension of the Alaska Marine Highway System in late July meant more tourist time in Prince Rupert for stranded travellers, providing for some spin off impact on the local economy during the ferry shutdown.

The future of the city's downtown core was the focus for a four day planning session which brought a number of community stakeholders together, with the city's elected officials coming out of the session seemingly quite enthused.

The City owned Cow Bay Marina was anticipating better returns in July, that following some disappointing numbers from the start of the 2019 boating season.

A request to move some residential land into the commercial zoning category gained some forward momentum as the Biggar Place properties moved towards a public hearing in August.

A bit of road construction in mid July, made for some challenges navigating around the city's commercial core as the city's 2019 paving plan moved ahead.

A joint venture between Hecate Strait Development and EcoTrust Canada moved into the development stage in July as the Trading Coast Marketplace initiative began its two month run.

The date was 7-11 and as they have for many years now, that meant Free Slurpee Day at 7-11 locations across the continent, with Prince Rupert's 7-11 finding a strong turnout of those looking for the summer treat.

Prince Rupert's CityWest communications launched their annual quest for a new telephone book cover, providing the photo-artists of the North Coast for some instant and widespread recognition for their artistic work.

In early July, CityWest also offered up some instructive notes no how our growing love of technology is putting broadband services to the test across the Northwest.

The Province of British Columbia moved the process of ride hailing services setting up a little bit further to the finish line, though it's still not known for sure if the likes of Uber or Lyft will make Prince Rupert a destination for their ride hailing options.

If the renovation business is any indication, Prince Rupert is getting closer towards the day of retail cannabis, with a Third Avenue store in the midst of some work in July.

The latest in laundry services opened to the public in early July as the Gitga'at Development Corporation celebrated the opening of Spotless Cleaners in downtown Prince Rupert.

The city's growing esthetics options expanded by one new business, with Le's Lovely Nails opening their doors in early July.

Retail merchants across the Northwest began July with a watchful eye, as the RCMP advised of a number of counterfeit bills making the rounds of the region.

The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce put the focus on Business in early July as they hosted a roundtable discussion on the local business climate called the Voices of Commerce.

July also saw Ecotrust Canada deliver a report on some of its work on incubating business opportunities on the North Coast.

The Terrace Airport snared another Northwest coup in July, as Air Canada announced its plans to revive its Terrace to Calgary air service this fall. The addition to the Terrace airport schedule delivers yet more flight options for residents across the region.

The start of July meant payment time for the city's commercial landowners as the City's residential and commercial tax bills came due.

The west side of the downtown core exploded into colour in July as the Argosy mural took shape with the completion of the Kraken on the eastern wall of the downtown retail location.

And some of Prince Rupert's finest food vendors and artisans took advantage of the Canada Day celebrations at Mariner's Park on July 1st, making for a festive setting the national day.

You can keep up to date on the ebb and flow of the Prince Rupert commercial scene through our Taking Stock Archive for 2019. 

More notes on the commercial sector across the Northwest in 2019 can also be found from our from our archive page here. 

We imagine we probably have missed a few here or there, so if you know of a business having opened, or seen the Going out of business sign appear somewhere in the area, drop us a line at our email account of northcoastreviewpr@yahoo.ca

Or send us a short message through our twitter feed of @CharlesHays

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