Brandon, MB – When you can't visit your local barber to get your hair cut professionally, why not shave it off for a good cause? That is exactly what Q Country & 94.7 STAR FM's Tyler Glen did. On Friday, May 1, 2020, Glen went LIVE on Facebook after blowing his fundraising goal of $5,000 for the Samaritan House Food Bank out of the water. With the support of the local community, he was able to raise over $5,600 for his "Ty's Awful Haircut 2 Battle Hunger 4 Samaritan House Food Bank" initiative, and he stayed true to his word by shaving his head. "Food banks everywhere are going through a really tough time right now, and our local food bank is no exception," explained Glen. "Like so many in self-isolation whose hairdressers are closed, a home haircut was on my agenda! I thought it might be fun to take it to the next level and help the food bank at the same time. The result was something that helped Samaritan House and helped put a few smiles on people's faces at a tough time." After seeing this on Facebook over the weekend, Westman Communications Group, who owns and operates Q Country 91.5 FM and 94.7 STAR FM, stepped up to the plate to support this amazing cause by matching the funds raised and bringing the total to over $11,200. "We are very proud of Tyler's efforts to support the local foodbank, especially right now when they need donations the most," said President & CEO Dave Baxter. "We are honoured to support Tyler's initiative and such a great nonprofit organization with a matched donation of $5,500." Westman Communications Group is proud to support the local communities in which they serve, as they know that it is especially important to support local, now more than ever. (submitted)

A new coffee shop (H Coffee) will soon be operational in Brandon's west end at 60- 3300 Victoria Ave, inside the Sunset Mall. H Coffee stands for happy, home, health. The neighborhood community coffee shop will serve a variety of coffees, teas, lattes & more. Dessert items will also be added to the menu. The owners had previously run a similar coffee shop in China prior to relocating to Brandon in July of 2019. They are members of The SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) and the Q Grader of CQI (Coffee Quality Institute). Renovations on the unit started in December and a soft opening has been scheduled for Monday, May 11. For now store hours will be Monday-Saturday, 9am-6pm.

Popular Brandon restaurant Sabor Latino shared information earlier today that they plan to open a Mexican Food Trailer this summer in the parking lot of Canadian Tire and Tim Horton's on 18th Street. Anamilena Beltrancastaneda tells bdnmb.ca that she is hopeful for an early June opening. Her and her husband (Helder Niano) are currently completing some renovations on the 28ft trailer as well as finalizing the menu. While Sabor Latino showcases the cuisine of 4-different countries, this new trailer will feature an authentic Mexican menu with items like burritos, tacos, nachos and quesadillas. They are going to explore the option of having some patio type seating. According to Beltrancastaneda, they wanted to open a food trailer as a way of expanding their exiting business. Once fully operational she said that they expect to hire an additional 5-6 people and that the trailer will be available for catering including weddings, anniversaries, staff functions, festivals & more. Stay tuned to bdnmb.ca in the coming weeks for both a menu and the opportunity to win some free meals.

Running With Wood is a local business making beautiful, hand-crafted wood items including sport logos, cutting boards, toy boxes, kitchen tables, business logos, cabin signs & more. Gordon Sokolosky, owner of Running With Wood, tells bdnmb.ca that he has been doing woodworking for around 4 years. He's a stay at home dad who was just looking for something to fill empty time and a different challenge to his day. Sokolosky's grandpa was a woodworker and his dad currently is woodworking out of Portage. Everything he makes is made to order and he’ll make, or try to make, anything people want. According to Sokolosky, pieces can take anywhere from a few days to a week to a couple months. "Just depends on how hard it is or the time I have in the shop". He usually gets up most mornings at 4am with a run, then straight to the shop after until 7am when the kids get up. That’s how he came up with his business name "Running With Wood". He is an avid runner who we recently featured for placing 3rd in a 100-mile race in Arizona. The best way to view or get in contact with Sokolosky about his work is his Facebook page. The demand of keeping up with custom orders keeps him extremely busy and leaves little time to make enough extra stock for craft sales.

The Province of Manitoba announced earlier today that starting May 4th "a variety of non-essential health-care and retail businesses will have the option to reopen under strict guidelines".  Restaurants – patio/walk-up services were listed among phase one of restoring services within the province. However only 50% of seating capacity will be allowed on patios, as part of this initial phase. The Dock on Princess, as an example normally operates with 32 patio seats and now they will be only allowed to serve 16 seats. The actual floor plan of how tables and chairs will be worked out is still being talked about. We reached out to several restaurants in the city to discuss their thoughts on today's announcement. Rick and Ashley from Original Joe's told bdnmb.ca that their staff is excited to be back open on May 4th. Greg Clemmensen, owner of East Side Mario’s, said their staff (both young and old) are so bored and they want to come back to work. In the service industry, staff depends on tip money for additional revenue.  He added that they all want to be placed on the schedule as much as they can. Darren Burdeniuk, owner of The Dock on Princess. They have rehired three full time staff for now. The inside of the restaurant is in the middle of some renovations so patrons can expect a slightly newer look when dine-in seating resumes.  Please note The Dock won't be open until the middle of May.