Peterborough Blogs
Sign Wars Take Over Local Businesses in Peterborough
/UPDATED POST (April 29):
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Day Four: The momentum of #PtboSignWars has not stopped as day four comes to a close on Thursday.
The usual suspects such as Anden Kitchen & Bath Centre, Trent Security and more are going strong but several places including neighbouring townships have got in on the fun.
Great Canadian RV Ltd., McKnight's Flowers Plants Gifts, McThirsty's, Peterborough Public Library, Blue Diamond Window Cleaning, Printhub and Craftworks at the Barn were the newcomers who got in on the action.
Lakefield and Selwyn have started to join on the friendly feuds that have trended in Peterborough. Places like Lakefield Cemetery & Crematorium Inc. St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Selwyn Public Library and Lakefield Animal Welfare Society got into the sign-war spirit.
Day Three: The sign-war bug has not stopped biting other businesses as day three gets more participants as well as past ones keeping up.
100.5 FM Fresh Radio and The Wolf 101.5 FM opened the morning with a huge front-lawn message thanks to Card the Yard.
Trans Canada Nissan and Russelle Toyota have joined in with fellow car dealership Trent Valley Honda.
Several places called out Paris Marine and Dairy Queen but neither has yet to issue a response.
Newcomers include Peterborough Appliances, Franz’s Butcher Shop, Kawartha Lakes Construction, and St. Martin’s Catholic Elementary School have joined in the fun.
Day Two: Day two of the sign wars have got more businesses involved, continuing the trend of poking fun at each other lightheartedly on Tuesday.
Day One: Trent Valley Honda, Whelan’s Flooring and Trent Security Systems Ltd. have joined in on the second day after Anden Kitchen & Bath Centre provoked some of them into the war.
The trend is branching out quickly as participating businesses and organizations are trying to work up others to join. Merrett Home Hardware Building Centre called out the Peterborough Police Service while Trent Security referenced Pete & Dani of 100.5 Fresh Radio. Both callouts have yet to publicly respond with their own signs.
The original friendly feud started on Monday. Anden calling out Friendly Fires and Home Hardware with the latter responding on day two but the former quickly responded to the challenge. All three day-one businesses have participated on day two.
The trend began in Christiansburg, Va. where Jim Bohan, owner of music store Bridge Kaldro put up a sign challenging Super Shoes — the next-door shoe store — to a sign war on April 16 with a message, "Hey Super Shoes! Wanna start a sign war?"
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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Sunfish Cannabis, Sparq Retail, Darling Insurance and The Pizza Factory
/PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StooNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…
Sunfish Cannabis opened last week at 112 Queen Street in Lakefield, (the plaza containing the Market and Subway). Owner Craig Hamilton submitted the license application eight days before the pandemic struck last year so it’s taken some time but they opened poetically on April 20 at 4:20 p.m.
Sunfish sells pre-rolls, flowers, vaporizers, concentrates, edibles, topicals, beverages and merchandise. Check their official website or on Instagram.
Sparq Retail has opened a second location at 861 Lansdowne Street, next to Chapters. Owner Robert Brunsch says to watch for a third location in the future.
Electric City Physiotherapy will be opening May 3 at 1054 Monaghan Rd. in Peterborough.
They are an interdisciplinary clinic where physiotherapists, rehabilitation/recovery specialists, massage therapists and orthopedic technologists all work together to improve performance and bring individuals back to full capacity. Their practitioners provide treatment for all patients regardless of age, activity level or condition. Visit their official website for details and to book an appointment.
Darling Insurance has found yet another way to give back to the communities where they do business.
They are filling gift baskets with hyper-local products from companies like Kyoto Coffee, The Chocolate Rabbit, Black Honey, Staples Maple Syrup, The Whistle Stop, and the Cork and Bean and handing them out to their clients, dropping them as congratulations, birthdays, thank yous or just to say hello. It’s a great way to spread some cheer, and not just to the recipients!
Congratulations to Peter, Anna and the staff at The Pizza Factory on their 41st anniversary.
Fleming College Hosts Technology Showcase To Help Community Businesses
/Fleming College is virtually hosting the 2021 Innovation and Technology Showcase, an annual event students create technological solutions for real-world challenges for businesses and communities on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
The top 10 of 67 teams — five businesses and five technology teams —will display their projects before a panel of 15 judges to determine the winner of the top prize money.
The following are the top 10 projects:
Josephine Management Co. Ltd.
Rfid Accessibility Tool
Smart Spice Rack
Fleming College Interactive Greeting System
Fix-a-Leak Plumba Web App
A Small Town Restaurant Looks Up
Marketing Strategy for Parkhill Realtors Group
Crestwood Alumni Better Together
Bob Nurse RCPA
Fleming Regsitrar’s Office Commmunications Plan
Fleming invites the public to honour the competing students and view the results as they will be announced on April 29 at 3:00 p.m.
The event is in partnership with Bell who has sponsored the event for the past several years.
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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Nomad Striking Company, Inspire, Trillium Automobile Dealers Association and 2021 Business Summit
/Mike Doherty has renamed and relocated his business. Formerly Dohjo Muay Thai & Fitness on Charlotte street, Mike has renamed his company Nomad Striking Academy and set up a new studio at 1748 Syer Line in Fraserville, just South of Kawartha Downs.
Mike has classes for kids, teens, adults and special needs in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Boxing. You’ll find Nomad Striking Academy on Facebook and Instagram.
Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project has extended the deadline for their #SheInspiresMe project to April 22 at midnight.
Inspire, conceived by local photographer Heather Doughty, is dedicated to celebrating inspiring women. This year, in a wonderful pandemic pivot, Heather is handing the lens over to YOU. If there is a woman in your life who inspires you, just submit a photo along with two or three sentences by Thursday at midnight.
Congratulations to Michael Eatson, Dealer Principal at Peterborough Volkswagen on being selected as President of the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) at their recent Annual General Meeting.
TADA represents over 1,100 new car dealers in Ontario. Eatson is planning to focus his term on attracting the next generation of auto professionals, and the post-pandemic recovery. He is also following in his father, Peter’s footsteps, who was President in 2002.
The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development are presenting the 2021 Business Summit all this week.
There is no charge to attend the online events which will focus on recovery, foster connections and offer knowledge on upcoming trends.
Workshops include photography, email marketing, inventory management, the customer experience, a funders forum and the daily networking tournament. Get your free tickets at the Peterborough Chamber’s official website.
StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring The Dirty Burger Company, USB Escape, Propel Physiotherapy and Local Peterborough!
/Dirty Burger opened last week. Owner Om Patel is serving up fresh ground beef smash burgers, hand-cut fries and delicious veggie dishes. What is a smash burger? The meat is formed by hand into balls and then smashed onto a scorching hot griddle. Open for pickup and delivery, the Dirty Burger is located at 211 Hunter Street in Downtown Peterborough.
USB Escape is an immersive take-home escape room company that ships games right to your front door! The horror-based game features eight major puzzles, 13 hidden puzzles and one meta puzzle that is played entirely on a USB stick from your laptop or desktop computer.
There are over three and a half hours of gameplay and owner Keith Dozois says USB Escape has chalked up sales in seven different countries, has been featured on countless podcasts, streaming channels and game review sites! USB Escape is available for purchase at just $14.99 on their official website!
Propel Physiotherapy recently announced the addition of Registered Physiotherapist Christine Davies. Propel is located in Etobicoke, Pickering and Peterborough and specializes in the treatment of neurological and orthopedic conditions caused by motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, and sports injuries.
Finally a shoutout to all of our local businesses who once again find themselves with nothing but pick up and delivery options. Hopefully you will all go out of your way to support our local business community by helping them get through the next few weeks. Whether its curbside pick-up, delivery, whatever works, please think local, #lovelocalptbo
Local Chef Celebrates Restaurant Grand Opening With Free Burger Promotion
/A dream come true for local chef and entrepreneur Om Patel as he opens “The Dirty Burger Company” with 50 free burgers on Thursday before its grand opening on Friday.
Om Patel during his tenure at Moj Foods. The Dirty Burger Company plans to have a patio and liquor license in the summer. Photo Courtesy of Whitney Lu.
The free food is to celebrate the grand opening of Patel’s first brick-and-mortar business. The burger joint is located at 211 Hunter St. W., the former location of the Hunter Street Tavern.
Customers can get a free burger through a link on their Facebook or Instagram in an online sign-up form starting at 5:00 p.m. in five or ten-minute intervals. This format will allow customers to get their burgers quickly and safely with the pandemic restrictions in place.
The three-ounce all-beef burger is paired automatically paired with onions, pickles and special sauce atop a potato bun. All other toppings are available upon request. Photo Courtesy of Whitney Lu.
Patel was a Fleming College graduate in culinary and previously operated Moj Foods located on The Queensway. His family has been in Peterborough for over 40 years and is of Indian descent. Patel uses flavours from his heritage to bring an added twist to the food.
“We’re really excited to offer Peterborough a fresh take on the classic hamburger,” said Will Trebbne, General Manager. “Om wants to bring good food back to Peterborough with an East Indian influence.”
A fried potato patty is one of two vegetarian options the restaurant offers. Avocado tacos with pico de gallo and refried beans is the other vegetarian main. Photo Courtesy of Whitney Lu.
The joint will serve three-ounce smash burgers with pickles, onions, Patel’s special sauce and a choice of other toppings. Trebbne would not disclose what specifically is in the special sauce but noted that it is a mayo base with a unique mild pepper.
Patel’s restaurant will offer authentic Indian-inspired veggie dishes and a variety of unique sides in addition to his burgers.
The toppings of onions, pickles and special sauce that come with the burger are Patel’s favourite according to the media press release. Photo Courtesy of Whitney Lu.
Many businesses have closed from the pandemic but Trebbne said Patel saw the opening to run a restaurant and fulfill his dream.
“Not a lot of people are opening restaurants, it’s a risky endeavour but it’s really exciting,” he said. “He’s been looking for a place to lease ever since last fall and we just had this opportunity.”
The Dirty Burger Company is offering takeout or delivery while orders can be done online — on their direct website or food delivery apps — or via phone at 705-400-7335.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
Ontario Government Declares State of Emergency With Stay-At-Home Order Restrictions
/Ontario Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency including a province-wide stay-at-home order in a live stream press conference in Toronto at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
The four-week order will take place at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday after top public health officials and Ottawa urged the province to do more to contain the COVID-19 variants.
The same officials reported a surge in patient overflow in hospitals and ICUs in the last week according to Ford.
During the order, Ontario plans to roll out mobile clinics to vaccine those aged 18+ who need it the most such as workers in the high-risk locations.
“These next four weeks are absolutely critical,” said Ford. “We’ve come so far already and we just need to stick together a little longer. because hope is on the horizon.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford (pictured) announced an “emergency brake” shutdown on Apr. 1. Over 2.7 million vaccines have been administered in Ontario since the press conference. Screenshot.
The following are the restrictions the Government of Ontario is putting into place in addition to the “emergency brake” shutdown on Thursday:
Grocers and pharmacies are allowed for indoor shopping
Garden centers can stay open
Big box and discount store retailers can sell essential items such as food, pet care, medicine, cleaning supplies and personal items
All other items and are restricted to curbside pickup or delivery
If the store sells the non-essential items in addition to food and pharmaceutical items, the sections must be blocked off
Non-essential retailers are limited to curbside pickup and delivery from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Residential evictions will be suspended
Shopping malls are restricted to specific purposes such as access to designated pickup locations via appointment
