President’s message- Bob Chisholm, McDonald’s Restaurants August 2020 Today we continue to battle with COVID 19 and its effect on the global economy. As Canadians we have a rich history of taking care of each other during tough times and this has been the top priority for our federal government in 2020. What lies ahead will test all of us in so many ways. People will change the way they work, where they work and how they work. And unfortunately many Canadians will not be at the same job they
CEO Message by Krista Ross September 2020 By the time you read this message, our election will have taken place and your chamber will be busy working with our newly elected officials in the province’s 60th legislature - ensuring that they are aware of business issues and concerns and the economic impacts of policy decisions. It would be an understatement to say this election was unlike any other in our lifetimes and while this election may be remembered as the “COVID Election”, it is also
Canada Business Registries We wrote to Minister Responsible for Service New Brunswick, Sherry Wilson to request that New Brunswick join the federal-provincial open digital business registration service, “Canada’s Business Registries” that was officially launched on 29 June 2020. The Multi-Jurisdictional Registry Access Service (MRAS) reduces red tape and internal trade barriers for companies by connecting business registries across the country. It enables businesses in Canada to register seamlessly in
Chamber Welcomes New Members Spurr Creative Inc. #403 – 50 Boyne Court Fredericton, NB E3B 0S5 Tel: (506) 262-0533 Email: chet@spurrcreative.com Main Contact: Chet Wesley Phonics VR Ltd. 50 Crowther Lane, #140 Fredericton, NB E3C 0J1 Tel: (780) 707-0172 Email: dillon.kearl@phonics-vr.lo Main Contact: Dillon Kearl Richardson Sanitech 169 Saint John Street Fredericton, NB E3B 4A8 Tel: (506) 721-3862 Email: info@sanitechnb.com Website: sanitech.com Main
Stingray Helps Take the Sting out of the Covid-19 Lockdown By Heather IbbetsonFew could have anticipated the widespread effects that COVID-19 would have on businesses across the country. Minimized staffing and customers followed by lockdowns strained both large and small businesses alike. Many local businesses searched for new forms of media to spread the message that they were still open. Despite the nationwide economic challenges, one business decided to help reduce the sting of COVID-19. Stingray
Limited Contact, Maximized Flavor: RustiCo. and King West Brewing Company By Dana MacDonald Known for their woodfired pizzas, RustiCo. has been providing downtown Fredericton with flavorful Mediterranean-inspired dishes and ice-cold local brews since 2018. Flash forward two years and one global health crisis, and RustiCo. is still doing what they do best, but with a few key changes to reflect the needs of a post-COVID-19 consumer base. When health regulations put a hold on dine-in restaurant
Ciao Bella!: MoCo Downtown and Bella MoCo To Go By Dana MacDonald First opening their Regent Street location in 2016, MoCo offers Italian food made lovingly from scratch and their latest venture, Bella MoCo To Go, is no exception. Billed as Fredericton’s first walk-up takeout window, Head Chef and General Manager (respectively) Brian and Shawna Foster launched the restaurant’s new section as a response to COVID-19’s restrictions. Shawna Foster spoke to us about Bella MoCo To Go’s conception and
Grounds for Resilience: Rôticana Coffee Company By Dana MacDonald Rôticana is a unique company, not only in their approach to production, but in their emphasis on coffee as part of a social landscape. Supplying small-batch blends and equipment to local businesses like Cafe Loka, Rôticana has directed their passion for fostering community towards public health initiatives during the coronavirus epidemic. Mohamed Khirallah, founder and GM of Rôticana, has always strived to “be part of the community
Heads, Tails, and Hearts: Devil’s Keep Distillery By Dana MacDonald Resilience isn’t about getting to the end of the struggle as quickly as possible, because sometimes this simply can’t be done. Rather, resilience is dependent on an individual or group’s ability to take the difficult situation at hand and work within it to find solutions. There is light at the end of the tunnel, absolutely, but it’s what we do with our time in the tunnel, so to speak, that truly matters. A common theme to this
The Flava of Kindness: Caribbean Flavas By Dana MacDonald While the demand for brick-and-mortar dining may have declined during the pandemic, many local restaurants have evolved by offering takeout and delivery. For Caribbean Flavas, delivering flavor-packed dishes to Frederictonians is simply a time-honored practice with renewed purpose. Offering delivery for the past sixteen years, Caribbean Flavas has remodeled itself with a robust home-dining menu, outdoor seating, revised pricing, and deliveries
It’s Your Business – A Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Workplace Toolkit When domestic or intimate partner violence (DIPV) enters the workplace, everyone feels the negative consequences. By taking action through policies, practices, public education and good corporate citizenship, your workplace will be modeling values that show concern and respect for the individual. By supporting employees dealing with the impacts of DIPV in the workplace, you will be creating a safe, respectful and healthy
Symplicity Designs By Maria Cardova Some companies—like Symplicity Designs—are used to dealing with crisis. They are a company dedicated to teaching, coaching, and training organizations how to improve, innovate, and grow faster. They are often brought into companies that are in the midst of a crisis or messy transition. Their job is to give businesses tools to survive and stabilize, and then to thrive. But even they were taken aback by the chaos that resulted from the pandemic. Matt
The Gaia Project – Maria Cordova There is no doubt the pandemic was a tough thing to endure for most businesses. However, through hardship sometimes comes innovation and new opportunities, and that is the case of the Gaia Project. As a non-profit whose goals are energy literacy and inspiring climate action, the Gaia Project provides classroom support to teachers by helping them include climate change into their pedagogy. They go into schools in New Brunswick to provide hands-on learning opportunities
By Ori Cordido, Business Development Manager Like many other Fredericton businesses, our team had to make a quick change to the virtual world. Our previous solar assessments would include in-person meetings, which we all know made things more personalized when creating a customer relationship. We had to find a solution to stay resilient and create an interactive way to show businesses how they save through solar... virtually. Potential Solar Location Instead of visiting the site in-person,
A Glance Behind the Acrylic Curtain: Taylor Printing Group Inc. By Dana MacDonald When the coronavirus first reached North America, Canadians’ idea of “normal” was pulled out from under them. For the first few weeks of the Canadian portion of the pandemic, there was a palpable heaviness that seemed to settle over every individual and business as we all scrambled to make sense of the new world we’d found ourselves in. As businesses worked to ensure the safety of their customers and employees,
Delta Hotel By Maria Cordova The tourism industry is certainly one of the industries most affected by COVID-19. One of our members, the Fredericton Delta Hotel, experienced extreme hardship when the pandemic hit. Sara Holoyke, the general manager of the hotel, recalls how the crisis hit unexpectedly. The week began with a big event in the hotel, and then she started hearing about cancellations of big events such as the NBA and the NHL. “Literally by the Friday, I had my leadership team coming to
Nobility Clothing by Maria Cordova Businesses in Fredericton have shown resilience in many different ways. Some business show resilience by thinking differently and adapting, others have shown resilience simply by not closing. Then there’s the ones that have shown resilience by giving back to the community, even if they have lost almost all of their business. This is the case of Nobility Clothing, a wedding dress design business owned by Natalie Noble. The restrictions imposed during the
Serenity Wellness – by Maria Cordova The uncertainty when navigating the pandemic was one of the toughest things businesses had to endure. A shutdown like the one caused by COVID-19 is unprecedented, and business owners had no experiences to look back on—an experience worsened for start-ups. For Stephanie Mead—the founder of Serenity Wellness—shutting down as a start-up was her worst nightmare. Being a massage therapy and counselling business, it was impossible to keep social distance as