Downtown Salmon Arm’s business community has expanded with three new neighbouring shops on Alexander Street.
The Mossy Stump Soap Co. opened its doors at 231B Alexander on Thursday, Feb. 13. Owner Jannis Zimmer said she moved the business, and her family, from Hope, B.C., to Salmon Arm to be closer to her daughter and new grandchild.
Customers walking into the store are immediately greeted by a dazzling display of Zimmer’s handmade colourful creations, a fragrant mix of soaps, bath bombs and other vegan products.
“We try to be as eco-friendly as possible, very minimal packaging,” explained Zimmer, whose products also include body oils, body creams, bath salts, bath fizzies and more.
“You can’t come in thinking it’s going to be a scent free store.”
Next door to Zimmer is another downtown newcomer, Louis Daoud and his New Wave Barbershop.
Daoud specializes in men’s cuts, facials, hot shaves, fades and beard shape ups. He recently arrived from Edmonton where he cut hair for seven to eight years.
“I got into it starting with my uncle – I worked with him for a few years and he taught me how to cut hair,” said Daoud, who wanted to open his own business and decided to do it in Salmon Arm after spending several summers here.
“I just wanted to move out here and be part of the community and open up a shop and be grow with the community,” said Daoud.
Just north of Daoud and Zimmer, at 261 Alexander, are neighbours Shane Hansen and Ashley Carroll. The address serves as Hansen’s office for his landscaping company, B.O.S.S. Landscaping Ltd., and is where Carroll operates Deluxe Tanning which offers a tanning bed, spray tanning and teeth whitening. Hansen, a Red Seal heavy equipment operator, provides the gamut of landscaping services, from yardwork and retaining walls to deck and fence construction, as well as snow removal in the winter.
Hansen said he and Carroll shared a business space in Fort St. John before relocating to Salmon Arm two years ago. Though he has family in the area, the move, said Hansen, was driven largely by their love for the area.
