Business

Three local businesses have made it into the finals of the Small Business BC awards. GameQuest, a downtown gaming store, is one of the top-five finalists in the Premier’s People’s Choice category. Playgrounds Café is a top-five finalist in the Best Concept category. Shiraz Café and Restaurant is a top-five finalist in the Best Immigrant Entrepreneur category. The top five finalists in each category will now present a Dragons’ Den-style pitch to the judges to convince them why they...

Benjamin Franklin said, “We get old too soon and wise too late.” That is particularly true where money matters are concerned, says Dean Prentice, senior vice-president of MNP Ltd, a company that helps steer people from financial ruin – or if all else fails, helps them through a bankruptcy. Seniors who go into their old age with little or no savings and then encounter health problems or unexpected emergencies can be the most vulnerable to financial woes, he said. “In a recent survey we...

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce is taking on a cozy new look during the 2015 Canada Winter Games. The office on Vancouver Street will become Chamber House, a place where members can warm up, enjoy a hot beverage, watch 2015 Games events, or work remotely. Relax inside the Brick Lounge, where you will find leather couches and a big screen TV. Conveniently located two blocks away from the action in Canada Games Plaza, Chamber House will provide an intimate space for members to...

After being open for just over a year in Prince George, Target is closing. Target announced yesterday that it is closing all of its stores in Canada. It has obtained an initial order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The order authorizes Target Canada to begin a court-supervised wind-down of its Canadian businesses. It also provides for a broad stay of proceedings against Target Canada and authorizes...

Time is running out to register for the third annual market expansion forum being hosted by Initiatives Prince George on January 20. Local and regional businesses wanting to connect with key contacts for major projects in northern British Columbia must get tickets for the “Procurement Opportunities in Northern BC” forum by January 15. “Tickets are selling quickly for the 2015 market expansion forum, with a mix of businesses that have attended past forums and new businesses registering...

For local provincial government staff, doing business in the province’s capital got easier Monday night. On Monday, the first direct flight between Victoria and Prince George touched down at the Prince George airport. The inaugural flight, originating in Victoria, landed in northern B.C. at 6:40 pm. The non-stop service, offered by Pacific Coastal Airlines, operates six days a week on a 30-seat Saab 340A. “I flew in on the new non-stop service and it was a very comfortable, quick flight,”...

  The man behind the stack of books at Books and Company has sold his interest in the popular downtown book store, coffee shop and arts and entertainment venue. Jim Brinkman, who opened the store in 1993, has announced that his right hand person Owen Lubbers will be taking over. In his “final goodbye” e-mail sent out Jan. 7, Brinkman notes the store has been “quite successful both financially and helped me to find out who I was. So thanks to everyone in the past. Onward we go. To the...

Robert Quibell is a techie at heart. Coming in a close second, though, is marketing. So when the opportunity to become the new executive director at the Innovation Central Society came up, he jumped at the opportunity. “There’s huge innovation (in Prince George),” he said. “It felt like home.” Armed with an MBA from UNBC and his own successful start-up business, Vortex Social Marketing, the former College of New Caledonia and City of Prince George employee will now focus his efforts on...

Former Prince George-Mackenzie MLA and cabinet minister Pat Bell has stepped down from his position as Conifex’s executive vice-president. A statement from the company issued yesterday says Bell wants to “focus more exclusively on family-owned business interests.” After leaving politics in 2013 for health reasons, Bell announced in late 2013 that his family was going to build Canada’s northernmost winery. Construction has been underway on the Northern Lights Estate...