The Shell gas station at 510-1st St will be closed permanently on February 26th, as per a sign placed in their store window.  An employee at the location indicated that the owner operates several other gas stations in Brandon, so no one would be losing their jobs.

Brandon Computers is on the move. The popular retail computer store will be relocating from their current location on Richmond Avenue to the Cornerstone Mall at 99-18th Street. The Cornerstone Mall is also currently the home of M&M Meats, Papa John's and more.  The store will remain open, at their current location on Richmond Avenue, throughout the move and the plan calls for them to be fully transitioned into the new space for the start of March 2018. The reason for the move, according to owner Danny Taylor is quite simple, they have run out of space (900 sq ft) at the Richmond address.  The business started in August of 2012, and in January of this year Danny bought out his business partner and became the sole proprietor. In that time the business grew to now include 5 employees and each month they recycle close to 10,000 pounds of e-waste, so the new space (2,100 sq ft) will come in handy.  With the increased space Danny said they have some plans to expand the business and those plans will be announced in the coming months.  For now, they are excited to add Don Semenowich to their team to help grow the business and to implement exciting and innovative new products and procedures. In addition to selling new and refurbished laptops and pc's, Brandon Computers also carries a wide array of computer accessories and hardware. They offer both in-store and on-site service/support for your computers and are a EPRA Authorized E-Waste Collection site.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words...so, in this case we will let the pictures tell most of the story.   Shawarma Queen Kebob House is now open in Brandon at 908 Rosser Ave.  Hours of operation:  Monday-Saturday: 11am-9pm, Sunday: 4pm-9pm.

A familiar face, and long-term employee of the facility, is leaving the Keystone Centre.  Jason Krieser, the current Sales Manger tells bdnmb.ca that his last day at the Keystone Centre will be February 23rd. Jason has worked at the Keystone Centre for 34 years, with a brief 6 week hiatus when he went to work at Montana’s with Ben Hernandez and Chad Wallin.  Jason will be relocating to Winnipeg in search of employment and said that he doesn't have anything lined up as yet.  Initially, he said that he will be taking some time off to relax for a month or 2. Jason started at the Keystone Centre clearing tables, at the event known now as Dakota Nation Winterfest, when he was only 9 years of age. Shortly thereafter, he started working working in concessions before coming on-board full-time in 1999 when Mike Roziere hired Jason to become the Banquet Manager.   We here at bdnmb.ca wish Jason the best of luck going forward with his career.

Cathie Crossin has been the owner – bottle washer – and cook at Tastee’s for as long as I can remember.  However, this winter she has found a family to take it over this spring. Cathie, now that you have sold Tastee’s, I assume that your life will change drastically? Once spring and summer arrive I'm sure I'll notice it. I won't miss working seven days a week behind the counter.  Now I'll have freedom to go places and spend more time with my kids, especially in the summer. I might even see Clear Lake more than once in a decade now!  Can you disclose the new owners names, and any plans they have? That's up to them to announce when the time is right. I can tell you that they are a lovely family and they hope to continue on as we did before. I will be helping them get set up in the Spring.  We have talked about the struggles over the years of being a small business owner, what advice can you give people?   Treat your service people well and pay them promptly. If your air conditioning goes down you and it's 30 Celsius, or a vital piece of equipment breaks, you want to give the repair guy every reason to rush over and help you out. And I want to tell people to act. If there's a problem or gap in the community, and you know you can help, please do. One of the things I was most proud of was leading a team that wasn't afraid to act. When Samaritan House said their cupboards were bare... we acted. We held a spontaneous fundraiser on a busy Sunday where we gave out free ice cream cones in exchange for pasta and soup donations. It was amazing! Really, it was nothing more than a group of enthusiastic teens, supported by their boss to help people. Thanks to social media and our community we raised more than 3 van loads of food in one day. When you have a business, I feel like you have an opportunity and an obligation to contribute to your community. What are you going to miss the most and what won’t you miss?  It's the same thing actually. The great people that were our employees and our customers,  I'll miss them because I won't see them at work, BUT I also won't have to miss them because they're still our friends in "real life." Brandon is great that way.  I will miss also the opportunities I had to promote Brandon and talk about our community.  When Tastee's was mentioned as a stop on the Great Canadian Road Trip (Expedia.ca) or in CAA Magazine it gave us a chance to talk about Brandon and invite people to come see us.  I liked that. More people should get to know Brandon.  What will you do with all you free time now? Travel. I love to travel! Most recently I visited Ireland and Portugal. I'd love to go see more of Portugal, and maybe Spain too. I plan to work part time, and I'll take on a few select projects. No new business for me anytime soon. I just want to enjoy my family and spend more time together. We at BDNMB.CA will miss Cathie, and her passion, and wish her the best.