Rapid City has branded itself as the “Little City with a Lotta Heart” and that showed through at this year’s “What’s the Big Idea?” entrepreneurship showdown in Neepawa last month. When area residents representing the Queens Eatery found itself before the judges, their bid for funding to help with upgrades to the restaurant’s commercial kitchen was an award that required very little deliberation. Recognizing the importance of the community bistro to the residents and visitors to Rapid City was compelling enough to secure a $1,000 prize. However, Kelly Spurway’s story itself was one that wasn’t shared with the competitors and observers on hand. Spurway, who signed the lease as the new operator for the Eatery in July, has had an interesting journey in the food service industry before arriving at this opportunity which is close to her own backyard. Though never formally trained in the food industry, her passion for working with fresh food was first inspired by her grandmother when she was just five years of age. “I started learning about canning and preparing food from my grandma when I was a kid,” says Spurway. “It’s something that I have passed on to my kids. It’s important that they know how to feed themselves.” But it wasn’t just in the home that Kelly was running her own kitchen. She operated “The Uptown Moose” in suburban Toronto for a number of years before the property was sold to a national chain. In Manitoba, she has worked in commercial kitchens and served as a bar manager around her business scheduled as a mother of four children. In 2013, at the urging of her children, who saw ads for an open casting call to appear on the Food Network’s “Master Chef” program, she submitted her application and was surprised to receive a call with a follow up interview a short time later. She was invited to attend a preliminary tryout with aspiring chefs from across the Province in Winnipeg, where her work placed her in the top five dishes evaluated. It wasn’t quite enough to secure a spot on national television, but it did give her a confidence boost that she was able to use to channel her creative energies. Returning home from Winnipeg, she launched her own food blog “A busy mom’s cook book” to share recipes and tips for mothers like herself that are on the go with various responsibilities but still want to ensure their children are getting the nutrition they need – even on the run. She has been encouraged to see that her online forum has started to register with people, eclipsing 5,000 viewers who log in for helpful advice in the kitchen. “When you have an active family, it’s important to get a meal on the table within 30 minutes. So I have included a lot of quick and easy recipes that accommodate this goal, as well as crock pot dishes that offer some heartier meals.”     Taking her expertise from the computer and into a commercial kitchen again was a leap that she felt so strongly about, she signed the lease and then shared the news with her husband Dan after the deal was in place. Some of the earliest challenges were not what she expected. “Nobody likes change,” she says with her brow furrowing. “Creating the vision of the Queens the way I see it … we’re very ‘small town’ and some people just want to see it continue the way that it always was. Something as small as changing the color of the walls was jarring to people. So it’s an adjustment to show them that we can change the menu to take food from farm to table and that it is affordable to eat well.” “People can fill up on eleven bucks here,” Kelly says with pride. “I’ve had to compromise a bit. There are about five items on the menu that we don’t make from scratch right here in our own kitchen.” But not every dish offered has a guaranteed chance of success. Such was her experience with trying to offer some new dishes that conform to her image of food made from original, fresh ingredients in the kitchen instead of something out of a box. She was excited to advertise chicken tortilla soup one day on the menu, but then saw hours pass without anyone ordering the specialty. Finally, a group of men came in and one ordered the soup. When it arrived at the table, the rest of the party promptly ordered one as well. When asked why they hadn’t considered it directly from the menu, they replied “It sounded weird.” While conscious of her bottom line and keeping her pencil sharp on expenses, Spurway is resolute about steering away from ordering from the bulk suppliers on some of the critical items on her menu – even when that may increase her line item expenses by up to thirty percent. “Supporting local business is the way to go,” says Kelly. “Sure, I hear that ‘You can get that from Sysco’ but when you deal with the local vendors you know what you’re getting and they will work with you. The best example I can think of is Lauren at Hamiota Bakery. I wanted a burger bun that wouldn’t get soggy when fully loaded with the burger and fixings. They created a custom kaiser for us that is a little crustier – and they produce it with a little swirl on the top that kinda looks like a crown – it’s a bun that’s all our own. And they’re fast. I call my order in and its ready for me the next day.” She shares that same commitment for local ingredients with all of the meat that is prepared in the restaurant as well. For her, ensuring that it is hand-prepared in the kitchen and will have a consistent taste and appearance for every customer, regardless of who’s on staff that day is critical to the long term success of the restaurant. All the beef, pork and lamb used on site comes from a local producer, A. & C. Hunter straight from the farm southwest of Rapid City. Since Kelly came on board, Queens Hotel owners Jim and Lianne Christie view the operation of the restaurant, beverage room and hotel rooms as a partnership – each heavily invested in the other’s success. While food service is also offered in the bar, the menu doesn’t switch to processed food just because the restaurant has closed. Instead, there is an assortment of prepared meals that can be warmed up for patrons – ensuring that every dining experience on site offers the same quality. The Queens Eatery does have a website at www.thequeenseatery.com and is active on Facebook as well for those interested to make the trip to Rapid City and savor the changes being served up daily on the menu. You can also check out Kelly’s blog at abusymomscookbook.blogspot.com

BDNMB was contacted by the new owner of Clemmensen’s Movie’s and More. Cam Wirch, who owns A & L Get Active on Rosser Ave, plus other local business’s, has purchased the building and business from Neil Clemmensen. Cam says the store will be getting a total makeover inside and out and will focus more on things like pizza by the slice – fresh sandwiches and more groceries. Some “soft openings” will happen for friends and family and he expects the store to be fully operational in January.

After several decades of providing everything from movie rentals to pizza and ice cream the longtime community corner store will be no more. Clemmensen's Movies and More started out as a general convenience store with movie rentals and several years ago they added Astoria Pizza at the back of their store. According to signage on the door the store will re-open in a month’s time as the Shop on the Corner, a pretty creative name by the way.

Four rising entrepreneurs cleaned up at Thursday's "What's the Big Idea?" entrepreneurship event in Neepawa, collectively claiming nearly $7,000 in cash and prizes. The event, originated last year through a partnership between Minnedosa and Neepawa saw growth all around this year with more jurisdictions signing on as sponsors, increased attendance from outside the region and more pitches than last year's debut. In all seven pitches were heard by the capacity crowd at ArtsForward, with four strong pitches sweeping nine award categories to claim prize money for their efforts. The big winner of the day was Tim Wiebe, of Eden's Avion Harvest production plant. The small pulse marketing outfit, which just opened its doors under the current ownership in January has seen an incredible debut year, securing deals for market placement of their product in 23 Co-op stores and recently signed a deal with Save-On Foods out west for distribution into those major supermarkets in Alberta and British Columbia. Laying claim to the awards sponsors by NADCO, the R.M. of Rosedale and the Neepawa Chamber of Commerce, Wiebe emerged from the event with $4,300 toward the continued growth of their operation. The name called most at award time, though was Minnedosa's Kim Burgess. Burgess, who has aspirations to open an Art Therapy practice in Minnedosa, delivered a powerful and compelling pitch which saw her name called in four prize categories. She took home $1300 in awards sponsored by the R.M. of Minto-Odanah, the Minnedosa Chamber of Commerce and a voucher for digital marketing services courtesy of Trend Lab Marketing. Burgess' pitch was also awarded the RBC "Pitch of the Day". Kelly Spurway, via a concise and punchy pitch by Lianne Christie, secured a $1,000 award for the Queens Eatery in Rapid City. The new operator of the community restaurant will apply the prize money toward upgrades to the commercial kitchen equipment to better serve patrons to the historic dining spot. The youngest presenter of the day was Neepawa's Kennedy Baker. The enterprising sixteen year old, whose artistic skills as a creator of hand-painted footwear has already secured the attention of the Winnipeg Jets NHL franchise after designing a pair of shoes featuring the team's logo. While only developed as a prototype, Baker has received a letter to request a meeting with the team's marketing department about carrying her designs in the official Jets store as well as an offer to connect her to other NHL franchises and CFL teams. Baker was awarded the Minnedosa Credit Union / Beautiful Plains Credit Union "Best Overall Idea" award, valued at $300. In addition to the pitches presented, attendees were treated to a line up of industry and small business speakers which kept the packed house riveted throughout the day. The event was attended by patrons not only from Minnedosa and Neepawa, but also saw guests from as far away as Kipling, Saskatchewan attending to learn more about the event and to possibly adopt a similar approach in their own community. The 2015 debut saw the opening of three new businesses and the expansion of a fourth, resulting in increased interest from private and public business agencies this year including the Business Development Bank of Canada and World Trade Centre Winnipeg.

Tami - Rae Clements reflects back to when their business had just 5 people in 2001. Today NetSet Communications boasts almost 120 staff and contractors. Over the past 10 days the staff and mgmt. of NetSet have moved basically down the road to their new state of the art building. "If I work late at night I feel very safe because all the locks have a swipe card" said Clements. One cool feature of working at NetSet is they have a room for children to come and watch movies in or play on an Ipad. When schools have an in-service day parents that are working for NetSet can bring their child and as well be supervised. The children are not allowed to bother their parents while working and the supervisor of the room will contract the parent should the child need something or an emergency happened. Tami says this is a selling feature when trying to recruit new staff. Right now NetSet features staff from over 7 different countries and it will be growing on a monthly basis. Also a big thumbs up to The City of Brandon said Clements who do an amazing job when showing people around the city when they are deciding if they will or won’t come to Brandon. Congrats to Charlie & Laurel Clark on their new building and being one of the larger employers in Brandon and Western Manitoba. NetSet is currently in the market for several staff and interested staff and contractors should contact them on their website. https://netset1.ca/about-us/careers/