Local business owner Gus Vasilarakis is doing his part to Revamp Brandon’s Downtown.  His latest project is located at 402 10th Street, right across the street from his family business Pizza Express in the heart of Brandon’s business hub.   This particular project has special meaning to Gus and his family as they do their part to help revitalize Brandon’s Downtown.  “It’s really great that the City and other local business people have seen the potential of Brandon’s Downtown and have taken the initiative to invest in the community.  I’ve been in business for over 37 years on the corner of 10th Street and Louise Ave. and we credit a lot of our success to our location and of course to our amazing community” said Vasilarakis. Gus and his Parents immigrated from Greece and started their family restaurant in 1982; still operating out of the same location to this day.  “Brandon’s Downtown has, and always will be a special place for my family and I. It’s been a second home for us over the years and to have an opportunity to invest in the community that has given my family and I so much is a great feeling.” The single or double tenant, 4300 sq ft building sports a premium, modern aesthetic while also being incredibly eco-friendly.  Unlike traditional builds, this development has been built using revolutionary Greenstone Panel Construction by local contractors Keller Developments, which provides industry best efficiency that will significantly lower tenant utility expenses while drastically reducing carbon emissions, protecting the environment.  The property also provides highly coveted downtown parking (17 on lot spaces) providing tenants and their patrons with convenience not found downtown. With construction now being completed and the space available immediately, now is the time to check out this prime commercial real estate for your new venture, business expansion or relocation. For more information and showings, call or text Gus at 204.761.5678 or email gusvasilarakis@gmail.com.

Courtney’s Cake Creations moved to a new location on Tuesday, January the 22nd. Recently, the business added patio seating where customers can enjoy an ice cream, slurpee or your favourite baked treat. A black sun shelter covers numerous picnic tables next to the bakery. Courtney’s Cake Creations is located at the corner of 1st Street and Patricia Ave in Brandon.

If you are a sports fan, more specifically a hockey fan, you owe it to yourself to head to D-VO's Sports Lounge in St. Lazare. The recently opened (March) lounge proudly displays autographed jerseys from some of the greatest players in the game today including Connor MacDavid, Auston Matthews, Sidney Crosby and Carey Price. Fans of old time hockey can check out the signed Gerry Cheevers goal stick, signed Bobby Orr jersey, and the autographed Gordie Howe jersey. A feature wall consists of a custom made glass display case showcasing memorabilia from the careers of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. The Montreal Canadiens have a section of the display to themselves as well. A 1963 game used Jean Beliveau stick, Guy Lafleur's 1975 game worn all-star jersey, and an autographed stick from Wayne Gretzky's 1,000 NHL game are among the signature pieces in the collection. Habs fans will love the Stanley Cup replica which contains the signatures of 89 different Montreal Canadien players who won the cup while as a member of the team. The place is loaded with items from the biggest names to lace them up. You will see memorabilia from Brett Hull, Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, Alexander Ovechkin, and Jaromir Jagr. D-VO's Sports Lounge is open Thursday-Sunday from 4pm-2am. In addition to pizza, a variety of burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers are on the menu.

The building located at 1601-1st Street in Brandon appears to have found some tenants. New signage for Reimer Overhead Doors and S.A.R. Sport & Recreation were recently installed on the exterior of the building. From a quick glance at their web site, Reimer Overhead Doors sells and installs residential and commercial doors including sectional doors, garage doors, rolling doors and security doors. S.A.R. Sport & Recreation carry a variety of ATV's, snowmobiles, and utility vehicles. Their Steinbach location also offers both a service and parts department. No word on an opening date or on what products/services either business will be offering the Brandon marketplace.

Framework Media is local businesses seeking to find growth through digital media, providing new and creative content for your brand. Social media plays a huge role in today's marketing world and ordinary content just isn't good enough. Whether its video or photos, Framework excels in creating quality professional images and videos for their clients to use for all their social media and other marketing needs. A recent example of some of their video work is posted below. Liam Shamray, who owns the business, recently took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions from bdnmb.ca. It would appear Liam you are a natural up and coming entrepreneur, is this a common trait in your family ? Not particularly, however my grandpa did own a couple of businesses in Roblin and I always found those old stories interesting, but I think it really started when took my first business course in grade 9. From there I just kept taking more and more courses and now I’m going into my 3rd year of business at BU. Was making corporate videos just something you learned on your own or did you have any formal training? I started playing around with a camera when I was about 14, so I got a great understanding of how they operate, but it wasn’t until about 4 years ago when I downloaded video editing software. That's also around the time that I started doing social media marketing for MSPrebiotics out of Carberry. I was fortunate enough to get this job where I learned a lot about how to apply my marketing skills and even got to sit in meetings with a past CFO of Novartis. I always knew how to take a nice photo but video became more and more in demand for our marketing strategy, so to make a long story short, yes I am primarily self-taught, but I think a lot of my eye for detail comes from my mom who spent the main portion of her career at CKX. Do you think that Westman businesses will embrace what you are providing? I hope so, I certainly think that there is a gap in the market for this service. I constantly look at an array of businesses Instagrams and I see so much potential. There is so much content you can create for the consumer, but I want to prove that although in certain cases an iPhone photo can be great. However, to really utilize these platforms you need aesthetically pleasing content that is not always an effort to sell, rather give value. What are the costs for a typical video? A cost for a video is anywhere between $400-$1000+ it varies based on the project hours and what’s needed to make the perfect video the client is looking for. Will you plan to branch into some new services? Absolutely, we offer everything from Vehicle, real estate, corporate, small biz, lifestyle, product photography and videography, or anything in between. Our latest offerings include social media management along with content creation which is our premium package for $1350/month. A content package which includes a 30-50 second video and a dozen edited photos costs $800/month and social media consulting is $35/ hour. Facebook Link YouTube Link