Courtesy Morguard Morguard is excited to provide the following update on our current development activities. Sobeys extra Brandon South — is on track for a mid-July opening. The 62,500 sf store will offer many extra amenities that are not currently in the market place. GoodLife Fitness - is gearing for a July 7 opening. Over 700 memberships have been sold to date. Dollarama started construction in early May and generally completes their construction within a 7 week period bringing their opening to early July. On-going Environmental remediation continues in Unit 48 (former Liquor Store) and is anticipated to be ready for a future Tenant in the fall. Restaurant Pad Site construction will commence in June with a turn over date of August to the Tenants for their work.  Restaurants include: Harvey's/Swiss Chalet combo, Fionn McCool's Irish Pub, East Side Marios Phase 2 development which consists of the Mall expanding into 40,000 sf of the former Target space next to Sobeys extra will commence in August and will be completed in the fall of 2018.

A new bakery is scheduled to open downtown later this year as Chez Angela Bakery and Cafe have announced, via their Facebook page, that they will have a new permanent home located at 29-10th Street in Brandon. The new shop plans to offer “fresh-baked goods made by hand with locally-sourced ingredients, artisan breads, cheesecakes, delicious treats, cookies, cakes and more”. Those looking to pickup, or treat themselves to some fresh-baked, from scratch croissants can do so by visiting the Global Market each weekend in Brandon, where they will have a booth for the summer.

Last month the team at Fired Pizzaria decided that they would like to seek out an opportunity to "Fire It Forward" as they say at their restaurant. After only a few moments, it was decided that they would reach out to the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen, and see if there was any interest in catering a meal for a day. What a silly question! Of course their was! All of the Fired staff who came in at 6 am that morning to start working on preparing the meal - volunteered their time. Their food supplier - Gordon Food Service - graciously donated (without so much as barely being asked) flour, cheese and romaine lettuce. The team at Fired Pizzaria provided pizza and salad for 150 people that day, and owner/operator Jamie Munro says that without the help of his team, and and his food vendor, the project might never have taken place. “I can assure you without the gracious donation of time from our staff and food from Gordon Food Service - Fired Pizzaria would not have been able to do this once; let alone again.” During this good deed, Jamie himself took something away from the experience, outside of just providing a meal to those in need. “We met some of the most wonderful and grateful people. The smiles on their faces told us we'd done something of value. The integrity and dedication of the staff and volunteers of the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen was heart warming.” Now, Jamie and his team, are inviting other local pizza restaurants in Brandon to come together to commit to providing pizza one day a month, for six months, to the Helping Hands Soup Kitchen. By Jamie's estimation each pizza place would likely have to donate between 5-8 pizzas once a month, and provide delivery to the facility. The Helping Hands staff would then look after distributing the food. Pizza places, and/or restaurants, wishing to join in the creation of this coalition can email Jamie @ firedpizzaria@gmail.com.

Brandon University News Release A business proposal put together by a pair of Brandon University (BU) students had a nice ring to it. By combining wedding planning and technology, Linaya Davis and Catherine Dubois found a match at the Manitoba New Venture Championships this month at the University of Manitoba. Davis and Dubois were awarded third place in the category of Best Business Plan Presentation for their pitch for Before I Do, an online and app-based business that would provide wedding planning services to the general public. The New Venture Championships featured 12 entries from post-secondary institutions from across Manitoba. Their business plans, presentations and logos were judged by a panel of Winnipeg business professionals. This is the second straight year that a team from BU has finished in the prizes. Last year Michael Gall and Tanner Price won the award for Best Written Business Plan for their proposal for Precision Vehicle Transport.

A new store selling furniture, mattresses and appliances at discount prices, that said it will create up to 6-7 jobs in the area, opened in Brandon on Saturday. Direct Wholesale, is the latest business venture for local entrepreneur Darcy Willey. The store will carry a wide variety of furniture and mattress sets at discounted prices, including living and dining room furniture, bedroom furniture, dining room sets, recliners, futons, entertainment centers and children’s furniture. In addition to furniture, Darcy tells bdnmb.ca that they will also carry a selection of small and large appliances from some of the best brand names in the industry. Customers can expect to see fridges, stoves, washers, & dryers from companies like Dyson, Dandy, Samsung, & Frigidaire. "We are so excited to open this store in the city of Brandon," said Darcy Willey, “We think the Brandon community is a good fit, and the store is in an easily accessible location." The furniture and appliances sold at Direct Wholesale will include merchandise obtained from manufacturers through factory closeouts, wholesale liquidations, dealer cancellations and retail chain buyouts. A grand opening is scheduled for later in the summer. Direct Wholesale is located on Brandon's North Hill, in the old Sears location (1820-18th St N). Check out their Facebook page for more details.