Business

Scott Thompson, founder of Mad Laboratory Distilling, works to keep grains moving from a hopper as they are fed to a mash tank while steam rises from a still being cleaned at the distillery, in Vancouver, on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Mad Lab switched to produce hand sanitizer during the pandemic but is now back to full-time production of alcoholic beverages.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

How did these companies survive the pitfalls of the pandemic pivot?

Many who turned to produce hand sanitizer, PPE in 2020 have struggled to transition back

Ruby Marcelino displays some of the products available for travelling parents to rent through her BabyQuip representative business in Salmon Arm. (Rebecca Willson/ Salmon Arm Observer)

Salmon Arm mom starts business to help fellow travellers in need of baby gear

Ruby Marcelino delivers and shops for equipment to make vacations easier

Vernon’s Cynthia Roberts decided a return to the Okanagan was what she needed for work and happiness. And, thanks to WorkBC, she has found her dream job in Vernon. (Contributed)

Sense of adventure leads to dream job in Vernon

WorkBC helps Cynthia Roberts, 63, find satisfying job after move from Alberta

A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive is shown at the main CP Rail train yard in Toronto on Monday, March 21, 2022. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says it will officially combine with Kansas City Southern Railway Co. on April 14 under a new name, Canadian Pacific Kansas City.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

CP Rail, Kansas City Southern Rail to combine next month after U.S. approval

$31B U.S. deal creates the only railway stretching from Canada through to the U.S. and Mexico

A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive is shown at the main CP Rail train yard in Toronto on Monday, March 21, 2022. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says it will officially combine with Kansas City Southern Railway Co. on April 14 under a new name, Canadian Pacific Kansas City.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
The LMEC Siding and Community Roofing crew are hard at work replacing the old roof at the North Okanagan Hospice House. (Contributed)

North Okanagan Hospice House gets helping hand

4 businesses chipping in to provide new roof

The LMEC Siding and Community Roofing crew are hard at work replacing the old roof at the North Okanagan Hospice House. (Contributed)
The second Bloom Tulip Festival in Spallumcheen, on Knob Hill Road, will run May 4-28. Advance tickets for the popular event go on sale online Friday, March 17. (Morning Star - file photo)

North Okanagan tulip festival ready to bloom

Advance tickets on sale for Bloom Tulip Festival in Spallumcheen

The second Bloom Tulip Festival in Spallumcheen, on Knob Hill Road, will run May 4-28. Advance tickets for the popular event go on sale online Friday, March 17. (Morning Star - file photo)
file photo

Businesses expect slower sales in short term as cost, labour issues persist: survey

Canadian Chamber of Commerce research shows one-third of companies expect to raise prices

file photo
Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File

T-Mobile acquires Mint, partially owned by Ryan Reynolds

Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, is being acquired by…

Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File
A fire, set in diapers in the Nanaimo Walmart, closed the store for five days in February and caused tens of thousands of merchandise items, including food, to be tossed in the garbage, according to a statement from Walmart Canada. (News Bulletin file photo)

Walmart reports ‘tens of thousands of items’ destroyed after Nanaimo diaper fire

Food spoiled, baby essentials ruined in ‘dangerous and shameful’ arson incident last month

A fire, set in diapers in the Nanaimo Walmart, closed the store for five days in February and caused tens of thousands of merchandise items, including food, to be tossed in the garbage, according to a statement from Walmart Canada. (News Bulletin file photo)
Used medical masks overflow a waste bin at the University of Calgary Medical Clinics in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Used medical masks overflow a waste bin at the University of Calgary Medical Clinics in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The image Sarah Thompson and Chris Barker used when they spilled the bean about being the new owners of Lake Country Coffee House on Facebook on March 1, 2019. (Lake Country Coffee House/Facebook)

New chapter for Lake Country Coffee House: Owners say goodbye

Sarah and Chris took to Facebook to thank the community

  • Mar 16, 2023
The image Sarah Thompson and Chris Barker used when they spilled the bean about being the new owners of Lake Country Coffee House on Facebook on March 1, 2019. (Lake Country Coffee House/Facebook)
Aerial view of Kelowna. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)

A new way to travel: Vancouver-based company opens marketplace for private flights

Airble partners with air operators for flexible air travel options

  • Mar 16, 2023
Aerial view of Kelowna. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)
Black Press Media File

Honda recalling 500,000 vehicles to fix seat belt problem

Honda is recalling a half-million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because…

Black Press Media File
FILE - Ryan Reynolds arrives at the 36th annual American Cinematheque Awards, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile announced Wednesday, March 15, 2023, that it is buying prepaid wireless brand Mint Mobile, in which actor Ryan Reynolds is a part owner, as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth up to $1.35 billion. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

T-Mobile acquires Mint, partially owned by Ryan Reynolds, in $1.35 billion deal

Reynolds to retain his role with Mint as part of the U.S. wireless deal

FILE - Ryan Reynolds arrives at the 36th annual American Cinematheque Awards, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile announced Wednesday, March 15, 2023, that it is buying prepaid wireless brand Mint Mobile, in which actor Ryan Reynolds is a part owner, as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth up to $1.35 billion. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Erica Jane is Kelowna’s newest restaurant located at the base of the One Water Street towers. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)

New elevated dining experience opens in Kelowna

Erica Jane is an affiliate of Kelly and Carlos O’Bryans

  • Mar 15, 2023
Erica Jane is Kelowna’s newest restaurant located at the base of the One Water Street towers. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)
The Canadian Real Estate Association is about to release the February numbers. A sold sign is shown in front of west-end Toronto homes Sunday, April 9, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Canadian home sales drop 40 per cent in February compared with year ago

February sales were comparable to what was recorded during the same month in 2018 and 2019

The Canadian Real Estate Association is about to release the February numbers. A sold sign is shown in front of west-end Toronto homes Sunday, April 9, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
In this Aug. 27, 2019 photo, the Best Buy logo is shown on a store in Richfield, Minn. Best Buy announced plans to lay off about 700 employees in Canada in January. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

These companies have laid off Canadian workers in 2023

A wave of layoffs in 2022, which left thousands of Canadian workers…

In this Aug. 27, 2019 photo, the Best Buy logo is shown on a store in Richfield, Minn. Best Buy announced plans to lay off about 700 employees in Canada in January. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
People talk near a Meta sign outside of the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Facebook’s parent Meta will slash another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A 2nd wave of layoffs at Meta 10,000 jobs are cut

Facebook parent Meta is slashing 10,000 jobs, about as many as the…

People talk near a Meta sign outside of the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Facebook’s parent Meta will slash another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
The Vibrant Vine Winery is up for sale. (JaneHoffman.com)

$13.5 M for East Kelowna winery

Vibrant Vines Winery is officially for sale

  • Mar 14, 2023
The Vibrant Vine Winery is up for sale. (JaneHoffman.com)
An airliner cuts through the skies over Montreal, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. An aviation expert says the seizure of four Flair Airlines planes over the weekend points to the fierce competition and high demand playing out in the Canadian air travel industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Seizure of Flair airplanes points to stiff competition in aviation

Airline has since “initiated” lease payments, called seizures ‘unprecedented … extreme and unusual’

An airliner cuts through the skies over Montreal, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. An aviation expert says the seizure of four Flair Airlines planes over the weekend points to the fierce competition and high demand playing out in the Canadian air travel industry. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson