Peterborough GreenUP Downtown Retail Space to Close in New Year
/GreenUP (also known as GreenUP Store and Resource Centre) is closing its downtown retail space in the new year.
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Peterborough Blogs
Innovation Cluster Announces Headquarters Relocation
/The Innovation Cluster - Peterborough and the Kawarthas doing a quick move as they are relocating from the third floor to the first floor of the VentureNorth building, announced on Tuesday.
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The organization’s headquarters will move to Suite 102 on the first floor of 270 George Street North in Peterborough. The move is expected to be completed by Dec. 12.
The relocation is in response to the evolving needs of the Innovation Cluster’s clients, their desire for virtual engagement and changing market dynamics. The new office will provide a more accessible and welcoming environment, enhancing the organization’s ability to serve clients, the market and partners said Innovation Cluster.
“The new location will allow us to increase our capacity for hosting events, workshops, and networking opportunities as well as strengthen our partnerships with local and regional businesses and educational institutions, ultimately contributing to Peterborough's economic growth,” said Nicole Stephenson, Innovation Cluster Board of Directors Chair.
According to a press release, the move will minimally disrupt services and programming and have no impact on employees.
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Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Handmade Heaven, Holiday Parking, Kevin Duguay and JA-NEO
/PTBOCanada is delighted to be running the Business Beat columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…
Handmade Heaven is offering free Santa Claus photos every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. along with free face painting from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Christmas.
The shop is home to more than 150 local artisans and makers. It’s a great place to shop local this holiday season with 100 per cent of the profits going back to the vendors renting space at the location. They recently moved to Portage Place Plaza, between the LCBO and Fabricland. The new space is almost three times bigger, providing more space to find unique items from local makers and artisans.
Speaking of shopping local this holiday season, head to downtown Peterborough and get two hours free parking until Dec 31.
Any funds put in the parking meters during this time will go to Kawartha Food Share and their support of 14,000 people monthly and 17,000 children at local schools. A big thanks to Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers for sponsoring the free parking. Check out some great local shops, get some hot chocolate, and grab something to eat in downtown Peterborough.
A shout out to Kevin Duguay, who is celebrating 20 years with his business KMD Planning.
He offers a range of professional community planning and development services to both the public and private sectors. KMD specializes in accessibility planning, which offers comprehensive design, planning, strategic, and creative solutions towards universal accessibility. Duguay is a former senior planner with the City of Peterborough, working there for 16 years before going out on his own. He’s currently a City Councillor and his company is focused on projects outside the city.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Junior Achievement have launched their When I Grow Up campaign to inspire and empower youth by providing them with the tools and knowledge needed to explore and pursue their future careers. The campaign focuses on promoting financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship among young people, helping them to envision and achieve their full potential. Additionally, donate to Junior Achievement and your contribution will be tripled up to $40,000 thanks to generous donations from Alf Curtis Home Improvements, Peterborough Truss and Floor, and Peterborough and District Construction Association.
If you want to have your business featured on the Business Beat or know of a business doing something new and interested, shoot an email to joel@pkchamber.ca.
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Voice of Business: Second-Annual Mayor's Breakfast
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Addressing the Elephants in the Room: From Development Charges, Physician Recruitment, Tax Increases and More!
Last week, your local Chamber of Commerce brought together our local business and political leaders, Mayor Jeff Leal and Jasbir Raina, the Chief Administrative officer (CAO). This was the second annual Mayor's Breakfast, with a packed house at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club. This meeting covered important municipal matters, from increasing development charges and tax rates to physician recruitment and MAT tax.
With this meeting expected to be heated, Leal and Raina dove into the reasoning behind the proposed budget cuts. As you may know, last week, the city council proposed to cut funding by 25 per cent for various community organizations rather than raising our tax rates. A week later, council rejected most of the proposed budget cuts. Leal brought up how instead of applying budget cuts, he asked the "big three” to reassess their budget asks. These organizations were the Police Services Board, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, and Peterborough Public Health. Rather than raising our tax rates, Leal wants to make this budget work by asking the three organizations to reassess their funding requests.
Raina referred to his experience in Mississauga, where he learned the ropes of accurate municipal budgeting. He reasoned that a municipality must operate with a large tax base. Raina mentioned that "municipalities cannot function and expect to grow with smaller tax bases, specifically Band-Aid budgets." Raina pointed to the many completed roads and ongoing projects adequately funded through tax increases.
Leal also touched on cross-border servicing and physician recruitment. With little industrial land left in Peterborough, this is a big concern if we seek to grow our industrial sector locally. Leal went over how the city has proposed to work with other municipalities in cross-border servicing, where industrial lands would be co-managed. This would benefit the city and the neighboring municipality and bring more businesses and employment to our area. On a physician recruitment note, Peterborough currently has 32,000 people without a doctor, which is a complex situation. Leal touched on this complexity in the city's plan to help bring in more family physicians. The "Bring Them Home" campaign would seek to bring back overseas Peterborian medical students in Ireland to practice at home in Peterborough.
The next elephant in the room was the proposal to increase development charges. One audience member asked how the city expects to spur development with these high increases. Raina responded to this comment, saying, “Every house added to the city is putting pressure on the community, and in accommodating this growth, the community must bear the costs.” Although this makes it seem that development charges are necessary to accommodate growth, many developers are still concerned with this cost increase as it will make it more expensive to build and will pass on to the consumer, as one audience member pointed out. On a side note, the Chamber will address the proposed high increases in development charges with our local Peterborough and Kawarthas Home Builders Association.
The next hot topic was our Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT), implemented in 2019, in which 50 per cent of its revenue will fund a new city-managed tourism entity. An audience member asked about the city's plan for this. Raina highlighted that the MAT tax would strictly reinvest in tourism development, and the work to establish the city's tourism entity is still a novel proposal and a work in progress. Raina also mentioned the progress in the MAT tax funding projects, such as the new arena, and how this MAT tax can continue to rejuvenate downtown.
Moving on to successful city initiatives, Leal showcased the recent success of the city's green waste initiative. Members of the audience were pleased to hear about creating a plan to expand green waste to businesses. This green waste initiative helped the city see great benefits in reducing landfill use and extending its life. Leal also mentioned that the plan to provide green waste management services could occur in the next calendar year.
This Q&A was jam-packed with sensitive but necessary discussions regarding taxpayer increases and operating challenges. This was a great opportunity for businesses to voice their concerns and have our public servants and mayor hear them. Having this dialogue in uncertain times amidst proposed tax increases is refreshing to see. This Q&A provided much-needed insight into the city's rationale for the following calendar year. This breakfast closed off with remarks from Leal and Raina expressing that to build Peterborough, it will take a unified approach. While true, this unified approach should not come at the expense of our local businesses. We hope our city can hear these concerns addressed at our Mayor's Breakfast and that next year's proposed plans reflect the feedback they received.
Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.
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Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Tidy Pawz, Summer Soul Yoga, NAKA Japanese and Eleven 14 Guidance and Care
/PTBOCanada is delighted to be running the Business Beat columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…
Rhonda Stillman has opened a new business.
Tidy Pawz Pet Parlour, a pet grooming business that began serving clients on Oct. 1. It’s located at 1434 Chemong Rd. in Unit 6 in Peterborough. Rhonda has been grooming pets for more than 25 years. Tidy Pawz comes highly recommended, providing a stress-free experience for pets and their owners. Rhonda's attention to detail ensures that every pet receives personalized care. Check out Tidy Pawz if you want to have your pet looking and feeling their best.
Summer Soul Yoga and Wellness is launching Athletic Reformer Pilates to their lineup starting in January.
Reformer Pilates is highly regarded for its ability to build core strength, flexibility, and muscle tone while minimizing joint stress. When using a reformer machine – which includes a sliding carriage, springs, and adjustable straps – participants can perform a wide range of exercises that target specific muscle groups with precision. The machine's resistance allows users to control and adjust their workouts according to their fitness level, making it suitable for beginners and seasoned athletes alike. Find out more and book your appointment at summersoul.ca.
NAKA Japanese Restaurant is under new ownership.
Founder Susan Tung has sold it to Emily Tan. Susan founded the restaurant at 213 Hunter St. W. in downtown Peterborough with vision of bringing Japanese comfort foods, like ramen, to Peterborough. She will shift her focus back to Hanoi House, her first restaurant, which she opened back in 2020. NAKA will continue its regular hours with the same thoughtfully curated menu that combines traditional Japanese flavors with a modern touch, creating a unique dining experience.
Eleven 14 Guidance and Care has a new office at 680 The Parkway in Peterborough.
Their new office enables them to offer Red Cross first aid of all levels, including emergency, standard, BLS, EFR and EMR from a new and convenient location. Their experienced instructors are Canadian Red Cross certified and committed to teaching everyone first aid skills. They offer instructions for various needs, including firefighters, businesses, social groups, and people just wanting to develop lifesaving skills. They can travel to convenient locations and are set up to teach large groups.
If you want to have your business featured on the Business Beat or know of a business doing something new and interested, shoot an email to joel@pkchamber.ca.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.
The Avant-Garden Shop Celebrates Another Milestone, Running 22 Years Strong In Business
/It’s been 22 years and The Avant-Garden Shop still running strong as they celebrated its anniversary with a customer appreciation event at its store on Thursday.
owner Brenda Ibey (far right) celebrates customer apprciation day on her 22nd anniversary as customers continually come in and out of the shop on the milestone date. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The store offered no tax on all items, refreshments and door prizes to celebrate the milestone. Soroptimist International Peterborough was there to help with gift-wrapping as a fundraising effort to support education for women and girls, locally and internationally.
The shop opened on George Street on Dec. 12, 2002 and operated for three and a half years before moving to its current location at 165 Sherbrooke St. due to increasing product demand.
Brenda Ibey, Avant-Garden Shop owner, attributes the community and her store’s uniqueness to remain in business for the past 22 years.
“We've really focused our product line on a lot of Canadian-made items, things that are a little different than what you get everywhere else,” she explained. “We have wonderful customers. I really attribute a lot of our success to our wonderful customers.”
Avant-Garden sells items such as outdoor wall art, hand-tuned wind chimes, East Coast and Ontario pewter, garden flags, locally made garden art, jewellery, coasters, candles, quality bird feeders, non-GMO bird seed, birding books, greeting cards, and more.
The store has won four Business Excellence awards, including 2022 Business Woman of the Year. Wild Bird Trading has also awarded it the title of Best Wild Bird Store.
“You have to be dedicated. You have to willing to be open almost every day and stick to a theme,” explained Ibey. “Talk to other business owners. They're often willing to help and I've spoke to a lot of business owners over the years trying to help them and young entrepreneurs.”
Kawartha Downs Announces New Harness Racing Manager
/Jim Huck is out as Kawartha Downs’s harness racing manager as the racetrack has given Lindsay Bax the new role, announced on Wednesday.
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“We extend our sincere thanks to Jim for his dedicated service and leadership in Harness Racing at Kawartha Downs,” according to a press release statement.
Bax has spent several decades in the harness racing industry and hails from a well-known racing family.
“We’re excited to welcome Lindsay to the team and look forward to her vision for the future of harness racing here,” said Richard Weldon, Kawartha Downs president. “Her experience and dedication make her a fantastic fit for this role, and we’re confident she’ll continue to build on the strong foundation Jim has established.”
“I’m thrilled to join Kawartha and work alongside such a passionate team. This track holds a special place in my heart, and I look forward to connecting with our racing community and enhancing the experience for both fans and participants,” said Bax. In 2025, Kawartha Downs Harness Racing will return to Saturday nights with an exciting year of programming in the works.
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Graffiti Vandalizes Several Peterborough Businesses Along Lansdowne Street
/Several businesses on Lansdowne Street between Lock Street and River Road South were discovered vandalized with graffiti on Tuesday morning.
