Kim Oulette and Doug Ashby have opened a new restaurant, Jitterbug Diner, a 1950s- and 1960s-friendly diner with good food for hungry tummies. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they offer a good variety of breakfast items with soup, sandwiches, chili, burgers, wraps and steak sandwiches for lunch. An eight-ounce piece of salmon seared and baked with JB’s special sauce is their signature dinner special. Other dinner items are chicken, roast beef, fish and chips and steak to name a few. Late night specialties include fritters, chicken fingers and Quesadillas. You must try the JB Bacon Bomber which is bread dough and mozzarella cheese, wrapped in bacon and deep fried, served with marinara sauce. Jitterbug offers a burger challenge. If you can eat their three-pound burger, with loads of cheese, lots of chili, loaded with onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickle, then topped with five hot dogs, all on a 10-inch bun and served with 1-1/2 pounds of fries, you get it free. Open Sunday to Wednesday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday to Saturday 7 a.m. until late. Call 236-420-0701 (236 is a new area code).
Ryan Schwindt is the new Kelowna station manager for Westjet. Originally from Saskatchewan, Ryan has been with Westjet for 13 years stationed in the Maritimes before coming to Kelowna.
Chocolatier Bernard Callebaut at 113A Gordon Drive has introduced a new product, ice pops, in its store. They are an all-natural product that include, of course, Bernard Callebaut chocolate with flavours of salted chocolate, mojito, strawberry white chocolate, raspberry lemonade, chocolate peanut butter and orange dreamsicle. They are a tasty way to cool down in the heat. The raspberry and mojito are vegan and all flavours are gluten free. The chocolate covered organic peel is still their number one selling chocolate, but the sea salt caramels are catching up. Duane Peters and Tracy Hanse are the owners of the chocolate shop. Call 250-862-2752.
Simply Computing, an independent Apple retailer, is relocating its store to 1546 Pandosy Street in the 103-year-old historic building. This location will pave the way for future Simply retail stores as it is intended to be more experimental but including more interactive product demos such as encouraging customers to bring in their own music to test on speaker systems, as well as a wide range of other unique accessories to accompany your digital lifestyle. www.simply.ca
ICHABAN Sushi, Real Taste of Japan, has opened at 366 Bernard Avenue (formerly Mimi’s Italian). Take-out available. Open Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Call 236-420-2111.
While busy studying for exams during the last months of their 2015 winter semester, at their respective business schools at UBCO and Okanagan College, Calen Trentini and Tyler Parfeniuk were also planning to launch their new business, Loop Cruisers. Loop Cruisers is a bike rental and bike tour business. It is located at 1123 Water Street, on the Prospera Place parking lot, across from the Dolphins. Calen and Tyler received welcomed contributions and mentorship from their main sponsor Getintheloop, which is a smart app that offers exclusive deals for local businesses with partners Matt Crowell and Mitchell Carefoot. Bike rental is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends. Call 250-575-9495 www.loopcruisers.ca.
Parveen Shergill has joined Lawyers Pushor Mitchell LLP as an associate lawyer with its litigation group. Call 250-869-1220 shergill@pushormitchell.com.
Happy 50th anniversary to Jim and Faye Edens (July 31).
Congratulations to Paynter’s Market in West Kelowna, which received West Kelowna’s Most Beautiful Business Award from judges affiliated with the Communities in Bloom program. Jennay Oliver is the market owner. Other winners were Melba Reid (Small Personal Garden); Marilyn Mathieson (Medium Personal Garden); The Pointe (Strata Development); Annette and Bob Mason (Curb Appeal) Jenny Kerkovius (Large Personal Garden) and Nadine Charlton (Edible Garden).
If you have not visited the Eldorado Hotel at 500 Cook Road in a while, you’re in for a big surprise. Now owned and operated by Argus Properties (Ted Callahan), there have been many changes and more to come. A complete kitchen renovation has now been finished also adding a large baking and preparation area, with executive chef Vince Van Wieringen leading the large kitchen team. The new wharf is now complete with 100 slips and eight new boats and eight ski jets added for rental. The floors have been refurbished and the windows replaced with Nanawalls. The former beer and wine store is now being renovated and combined into the Eldorado bar, with much more seating. The former lounge and new lounge have a spectacular tin roof ceiling. Outside, a new layer of patio tables has been added right below the inside seating and Nanawalls, amidst lovely landscaping. The hotel still serves its famous Sunday brunch and the menu has a wide variety of features for both lunch and dinner. I tried the bikini spinach salad with chicken and it was delicious. Sean Coward is the director of operations and Colin Spiekermann is the food and beverage manager. Call 250-763-7500.
Chapters is hosting a book signing Aug. 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. by local author Ralph Morrison. The Fear Inside is a true story about Ralph’s life, bullying, sexual abuse and the effects it has on one’s life when left unchecked, buried away and much too afraid to talk about it. Ralph crossed Canada last year promoting the book and speaking to community groups, governments and the media. ralphmorrison_@hotmail.com.
Big thanks to Shayna Hvala at Quails Gate Winery for her help and excellent customer service.
The Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C is hosting the CPABC Pacific Summit in Kelowna, a business and leadership conference aimed at bringing together influencers from the business community, industry leader’s, entrepreneurs and CPA members for learning and leadership at the Grand, Sept. 23 to 25. The keynote speakers will be Riaz Meghji, co-host of Breakfast TV Vancouver; Linda Nazareth, senior economist at CIBC and John Herdman, head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team. They would like the community to join them by signing up for the summit or becoming a sponsor. The event includes running effective meetings, project management, budgeting and forecasting, negotiations and setting and management priorities. I was pleased to sit on the CMA-CPA board for the past five years and also through to the merger of the CAs, CGAs and CMA’s to the new CPA designation. Visit www.bccpa.ca/pacificsummit or contact Jessica Ng at jng@bccpa.ca or 604-714-2350.
Last week I wrote about the Pets and People Society and their new E-transfers. The email address to direct a tax deductible donation is: treasurer@petsandpeople.ca.
In a friendly match, The Chinese Alumni Soccer Team is coming to Kelowna Aug. 9, to play the Brandt’s Creek Soccer Club, Okanagan Old Timers league at the Apple Bowl. The game will kick off at noon. Admittance is a non-perishable food item for the food bank. Contact Kelvin Brown at browlaur@hotmail.com.
The Interfaith Blood Drive Challenge is calling all faith-based organizations and youth groups for participants aged 17 and older to adopt a clinic from Aug. 1 to 31. No group is too small and you can book at any of the Interior clinics. Contact Gayle Voyer at 250-448-4022 or gayle.voyer@blood.ca.
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 26 family picnic is set for Sunday, Aug.16 at the branch from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be activities all day for both adults and kids. $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Food provided.
The Summer Arts Scene for Youth (SASFY) sixth annual Summer Arts School culminating workshops event is Saturday, Aug. 15 from 1:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. at George Elliott Secondary School and Creekside Theatre in Lake Country. The workshops will be open to the public with free admission. The very popular six-day summer arts school program is a unique inter connection of the arts experience that ignites passion in visual, language and performing arts. Amazing talents and creative expression of youth ages 8 to 16 from across Canada and abroad are showcased. The Aug. 15 gala will celebrate the unveiling of the specially commissioned Spirit of the Land of the Okanagan 30-foot-long stage curtain banner created and designed by Lake County artist Rhythm Hunter in collaboration with West Kelowna aboriginal artist Pat Raphael. Join the live performance of the newly composed SASFY hot upbeat song written by local artist, special guest and Emcee Anna Jacyszyn. Claudia Kargl is the president and artistic director of SASFY. For more information call 250-768-1404 or visit www.sasfy.ca.
Birthdays of the week—Yours truly, Maxine DeHart (Aug. 6); Ross Grimmer (Aug. 5); Ron Eberle, Global/Shaw (Aug. 5); Mohini Singh (Aug. 6); Roger Sellick (Aug.7); Gary Johnston (Aug. 7); Val Pelechaty (Aug.7); Tara Culbert (Aug. 8); Hugh Feagan (Aug. 8); Gary Bennett (Aug. 8); Peter Schultz (Aug. 8); Kathleen Stang (Aug. 9 ); Wilbur Turner (Aug. 10); Travis Huva, my nephew (Aug. 11); In memory of Sandy Apostolidis (Aug. 7).
