Brianne Roblin always wanted to own her own business. After bouncing ideas off her husband, the couple realized that their best option for a retail outlet was one they had frequently visited themselves. Once Upon A Child is set to open their Brandon, MB location later this fall, nestled just off 18th Street behind Supplement King and Wayback Burgers. With over 380 locations across Canada and the USA, Roblin felt that it was a business model that could thrive in the Brandon and Westman area. "From an early age, I loved "Bag Days" at the local thrift store in the town," said Roblin. "You could fill a bag for $5.00; this was how I got all of my clothes growing up. My mom raised three kids on a single income; we knew nothing different." The company prides themselves on selling gently used kid's clothing, shoes, toys, furniture and baby supplies. The business model is simple. The store buys your gently used items, puts them on the shelf and sells them to other consumers, thus, helping eliminate waste and saving thousands of gallons of water and millions of barrels of oil. "I have been a Once Upon A Child Customer now for eight years, and I look forward to taking in my daughter's items and exchanging those items for the next size up," added Roblin.  "Our goal is to provide an alternative shopping experience for everyone in the Westman Community." Construction continues on the new storefront, and a grand opening is tentatively slated for the fall. Roblin adds that the first few months, the store will be in a strictly "Buying" mode, in order to build up an inventory. For up to the minute details on jobs, and the grand opening, visit them on Facebook. How It Works: * Bring your gently used items. We buy ALL seasons, all day, every day. No appointment necessary * We will review your items carefully based on current style, safety and condition standards * We will offer you a payment on the spot for all items accepted Selling Tips: * Clothing should be of current style, in ready to wear condition and neatly organized. Two-piece outfits placed together * Toys, equipment and furniture, should include all original parts, be clean and in good working condition. * To ensure safety and quality standards, were unable to buy car seats, recalled items and products that do not meet current safety standards.

Westoba Credit Union (WCU) was recently recognized as a finalist in a national awards program that shines the spotlight on organizations who are leveraging technology to revamp their approach to digital operations. IT World Canada (ITWC) Digital Transformation Award program receives nominations from companies and public sector organizations coast to coast in Canada. An independent panel of industry experts judges the award winners based on several key considerations. WCU was named a finalist for the 2020 Digital Transformation Award in the Small Private Sector category. Judges were impressed with Westoba’s implementation of new processes and infrastructure that brought much-needed network stability to an organization serving urban and rural communities. “Digital transformation needs to be a team effort, it’s not something IT does and then layers onto a company,” said lead judge Gary Davenport. “By forming a working group to focus on the institution’s pain points and digital future, it guaranteed employee buy-in of the required changes. That’s a lesson others can still learn.” WCU Board of Directors identified the organizations digital future as a major focus to stay relevant in the financial industry. “Having our hard work recognized nationally is very exciting for our organization,” said WCU’s President and CEO Jim Rediger. “We take pride in our team approach in everything we do. It enables us to continuously improve service and offer new technology to our members.” Norman Neil, Senior Director of Information & Digital Technology at WCU said speed, stability, autonomy, and security are critical to a solid IT network architecture. “Our members have seen improved service time and peace of mind regarding security with these changes.” said Neil. “It has opened the door for future technologies, and we are excited about the direction we are going.” (submitted)

Whether you are planning an event, stocking up the freezer, or heading to the lake for a weekend EK Meats may just have what you're looking for. The Brandon based business launched in June of this year proving customers with an avenue to order a wide variety of frozen food products including proteins (bacon, ribs, burgers, breakfast sausage, chicken breasts) and appetizers (battered mushrooms, macaroni bites, chicken wings, spring rolls, mozza sticks, chicken fingers, & more). To order, simply visit their Facebook page to see the current week's menu for options and pricing details. Once an order has been placed (via Facebook or text) the order is then ready for pickup at their location at D-730 Richmond Ave E on Wednesday afternoon of each week.

The Blue Hills Bakery & Deli (1229 Richmond Avenue) has been creating delicious breakfasts, lunches and bakery treats in Brandon since 2006. This cozy bakery has something for everyone, from; freshly baked breads and buns, decadent desserts, to breakfast and daily lunch specials.  They use organic flour and grains wherever possible in making their hand-crafted food/baking. The breads (sourdough multigrain, whole wheat, flax, whole wheat multigrain, white) are baked fresh daily and they bake their own chicken and turkey for the daily soup and sandwich specials. They also feature two daily lunch specials like a Reuben sandwich, denver sandwich, shepherd's pie, turkey clubhouse, lasagna, grilled chicken burger and more. While their signature menu item just might be their home-made cinnamon buns, the wide-ranging soups (bacon potato chowder, beet borscht, smoked sausage, cream of mushroom, creamy chicken rice) cannot be ignored. Breakfast is served daily from Monday- Friday between 8am-11am or Sat 8am-1pm. For more information on Blue Hills Bakery & Deli, or their hours of operation and daily specials, please visit their Facebook page here.

The new Empire Inn and Suites beer vendor (5th and Rosser) recently opened to the public to walk-in customers. Manager Hamul Patel told bdnmb.ca earlier today that he expects the drive-thru area and parking lot to be paved on Tuesday, or Wednesday, of the coming week. The 3,000 sq foot vendor (1,000 sq foot cooler) currently has a selection of 100 different beer and malt coolers to choose from, with more arriving daily. The original vendor burned to the ground in May of 2018 when a fire ripped through several buildings in downtown Brandon. Hours of operation: Sunday-Thursday: 10am-midnight Friday & Saturday: 10am-2am