Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Wednesday, March 1, 2006 snow will be removed or plowed on the following 2 streets.

1. Water Street (Waldegrave Street to Temperance Street)
2. Duckworth Street

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $109.25 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage.

The DDC, in partnership with the St. John's Board of Trade and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, will offer a Crime Prevention Seminar on Tuesday, March 7 at the Murray Premises Hotel from 8:30 am to 10:30 am.

The session is aimed at downtown businesses and their employees assisting them to arm themselves with the information and awareness they need to minimize their vulnerability to crime.

The session is FREE and to register call Carol Hanlon at the Board of Trade at 726 2961 ext 6 or e mail her at chanlon@bot.nl.ca. Coffee and muffins will be served. Spread the word to your neighbours.

Roger Chafe sees a lot of familiar faces when he goes to work. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, William L. Chafe, and his father, William L. Jr. — Roger Chafe is a third-generation manager of William L. Chafe and Son Ltd. men’s clothing store on Water Street in downtown St. John’s. He’s been working at the store since childhood, and still sees many of the same people shopping in the store today that he saw as a kid.

I’ve got men coming in here who tell me they’ve never shopped anywhere else,” Chafe tells The Independent. “They bought suits from my grandfather … we’ve got a dedicated clientele.

“Most of our customers, we know them by name, so it’s more personalized. They appreciate that.”

William L. Chafe opened in 1929. In the beginning customers came in, picked out a material they liked, had their measurements taken and a suit was made. The outfit was manufactured right in the store, as a team of up to 30 women took care of the tailoring.

While the approach was popular with customers, it was phased out over the years until the store stopped the process altogether in 1975.

“These factories in Montreal were starting to stock suits, so made-to-measure was starting to become less popular,” says Chafe. “Made-to-measure is labour intensive … so it became easier for us to have suits in stock. Gradually it became less made-to-measure and more in stock.”

The end of the made-to-measure era is one of the biggest changes the store has faced (excluding a fire three years ago), but Chafe says the actual products sold have also been tweaked. In the store’s early days, the only clothing for sale was suits. But now customers can find everything from leather jackets to corduroy pants.

“When they started off it was just suits. You’d buy a suit and get two pairs of pants with it,” Chafe explains.

“Now we do casual wear, your suits, your tuxedos … We sell everything for men except for jeans.”

When William L. Chafe opened in 1929 such stores were customary in St. John’s. But 77 years later, the city and surrounding area is littered with shopping malls and big-box stores that offer virtually every brand name known to the clothing industry, providing steep competition for private downtown businesses.

“Every four or five months another mall is opening, another strip mall is opening, and these big-box stores are obviously taking a toll on the traffic that is coming downtown,” says Chafe.

Perhaps the biggest advantage the big box stores have is their ability to offer customers acres of free parking, he says.

“Downtown has different challenges. Parking is one of them,” he says. “And I hear it every day. Customers coming in cursing and swearing, they can’t get a parking spot or they come down … and they get a ticket.

“It’s a pain and I know. I get thousands of dollars in parking tickets myself, and I pay for three parking spots across the street. It’s a big obstacle.”

But overcoming obstacles is nothing new to the owners of William L. Chafe. Just three years ago a fire gutted the business. Chafe rebuilt in the same location, although this time around he purchased the neighbouring building, knocked down the wall separating the two structures and expanded the store. He then renovated the excess room upstairs into apartments for rent.

“We were just trying to make the best of a bad situation,” Chafe says.

The added size of the store’s showroom was good for business, and no doubt helps Chafe fend off the advances of the ever-expanding, big-box store market in St. John’s. Another way the store remains successful is by securing contracts with the RNC, Metrobus and private businesses to produce employee uniforms.

“I just finished taking measurement for the RNC for a new pea coat I designed,” Chafe says. “We provide uniforms for security guards, bus drivers, cops …”

Chafe adds the main reason the store has remained successful in a time when many private businesses face tough times is the fact it’s a family run operation. His mother Winnie, father William and sister Heather all join him in working in the store, each developing relationships with the loyal customers who have been coming through the doors for years. Together, Chafe says they work to ensure the business will be around for future generations.

“We have a good following that keeps up going,” says Chafe. “We’re small, and it’s only family. We keep our expenses low.”

By Darcy Macrae (St. John's)
The Independent
Sunday, February 19, 2006

Egged on by its success across the country, popular Cora’s chain gets cooking in St. John’s.

Eatery options in downtown St. John’s got a boost Monday when Cora Tsouflidou arrived at Atlantic Place to crack the first egg at Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch, celebrating the opening of her first restaurant in this province and 79th in the country.

“We’re so happy to be in Newfoundland,” said Quebec native Tsouflidou, as she watched a steady stream of customers come through the doors. “For us, it’s like my wildest dream coming true. I never imagined that we would grow that much and that I would come so far – and that people would love my food.”

Had it not been for her marriage breakup almost two decades ago, Tsouflidou may never have bought an abandoned snack bar in Montreal. Nor would she likely have found herself serving breakfast to make ends meet.

“After, unfortunately, a divorce, I had to earn my living. So, I sold my house and I bought a small snack bar and I start to cook what they were serving that time in restaurants,” she said with a laugh. “The kitchen table, the pots and pan and the dishes and everything. Because I was that poor.”

While she initially focused on what other restaurants in her area were serving for breakfast, Tsouflidou became convinced that customers would also enjoy the kind of home-cooked meals that she’d grown up on.

“My mother was a cook. She didn’t buy nothing outside, she’d fix everything – bread and jam. So, of course, I learned how to cook. And in that little snack bar I was the cook and started to tell my kids, what about we start to serve them real good food? Real pancake mix that I do myself, real breads. So, that’s how we started.”

Coming up with money to print menus was out of the question when she first started. “You see, drawings on the wall – that’s how I started,” she said, explaining how, in the early days, she would take customer’s suggestions and draw pictures of menu items on the walls.

While there’s plenty of money to print menus now, the tradition of decorating the walls with pictures of brightly colored food items continues in her restaurants today. Tsouflidou said when her first restaurant began dealing with lineups at the door, she knew it was time to open store No.2.

“My kids were working with me and they always wanted me to take a day off. So, one day, I say, ‘You’re going to keep that store and I’m going to open another little store where I will be working every day and nobody will want to push me out,” she recalled with a laugh.

“That’s how we opened the second one. Then I started to dream as a single mother; it would be good if each one of my kids had a store. So, my goal was to have four – (for the) three kids plus me.”

Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch chain includes 55 restaurants in Quebec and numerous others in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island. Cora’s is known for serving mounds of fresh fruit as well as cheese, cereals, crepes, omelets, pancakes, waffles and French toast.

All of the chain’s 100-plus recipes are inspired by family traditions, health trends, customer requests and ideas from her children, she said. The family restaurant chain has been recognized as a leader among breakfast eateries in the country and was recently named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies.

Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch in St. John’s employs roughly 25 people and more are expected to be hired during the summer months. Local franchise owner Calvin Vincent also owns Oliver’s restaurant on Water Street. “As the first Cora’s franchise owner in Newfoundland, I have the pleasure of introducing the people of St. John’s to an amazing concept with exceptional food,” he said in a recent news release. “Cora’s does breakfast like no other restaurant I’ve seen. I think it’s going to be a huge hit.”

With windows facing the harbour and Signal Hill, the view from the restaurant is as colorful as the woman who came up with the idea and ran with it. “Half of the success will be the view here. It’s going to be easy to succeed. It’s totally amazing,” Tsouflidou said.

Cora’s Breakfast and Lunch is open Monday to Saturday from 6 am to 3 pm an dSundays from 7 am to 3 pm.

By Danette Dooley, Special to the Telegram, Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Stressed out? Tired? Sore back? Downtown workers can now alleviate these
symptoms with a visit to Compu College's Massage Therapy Student Teaching
Clinic.

As a part of their training, students in their second year of this two-year
program are required to participate in weekly clinics, as well as in other
community outreach programs. Massage Therapy Program Manager, Jodi
Forsythe says that, " The student's required clinical participation is a
win-win situation for both the student and the client. The client can
receive a great massage treatment for a reduced cost, and the students gain
the experience necessary to start their careers."

The Student Teaching Clinic, located at Compu College's Duckworth Street
campus, is opened for appointments two evenings per week. Your organization
can also book the clinic and students for an evening of health and wellness.

Ms. Forsythe states that, " These clinics are an excellent way for Downtown
workers to improve their health and well-being within just minutes of their
workplace."

For more information, to make an appointment, or to organize a special
event, please call Jodi Forsythe at Compu College, 722-8580.

Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Tuesday, February 14, 2006 snow will be removed or plowed on the following 3 streets.

1. Water Street both sides (from Temperance St to Waldegrave St)
2. Duckworth Street
3. St. John's Lane

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $109.25 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage.

Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Wednesday, February 8, 2006 snow will be removed or plowed on the following 8 streets.

1. Water Street north side ( from Patrick Street to Topsail Road )
2. Gower Street
3. Bond Street
4. George Street
5. Springdale Street
6. Pleasant Street
7. Atlantic Avenue
8. Queen's Road

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $109.25 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage.

Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Tuesday, February 7, 2006. snow will be removed or plowed on the following 7 streets.

1. Prescott Street ( from Rawlins Cross to Duckworth Street )
2. Cochrane Street ( from Military Road to Duckworth Street )
3. Duckworth Street south side ( from New Gower Street to Cavendish Square )
4. Water Street south side ( from Waterford Bridge Road to Cochrane Street )
5. Water Street north side ( from Waldegrave Street to Topsail Road )
6. New Gower Street ( from Hamilton Avenue to Queen's Road )
7. McBride's Hill

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $109.25 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage.

Motorists are advised that snow removal and/or street widening operations are in effect tonight. Beginning at 12:30 am and continuing until 7:30 am, Monday, February 6, 2006 snow will be removed or plowed on the following 8 streets.
1. Water Street (from Waldergrave Street to Temperance Street)
2. Duckworth Street (from New Gower Street to Temperance Street)
3. Hill O'Chips
4. Cathedral Street
5. Church Hill
6. St. John's Lane
7. Holloway Street (from Duckworth Street to Water Street)
8. Temperance Street

All vehicles must be removed from the streets noted during this time period. Any vehicles impeding the operation will be removed and impounded at the owner's expense. The impounding fee is $109.25 plus $3.00 for each day the vehicle is held in storage.

The Downtown Development Commission (DDC) is putting the finishing touches on its 2006 edition of the ‘Pocket Guide to Downtown’. The popular publication, which lists the shops, restaurants, bars, hotels and other services in the Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA), will be heading to press in early February.

Complete with a walking map and a listing of historical landmarks, the ‘Pocket Guide’ is primarily targeted at visitors to the Downtown. The DDC encourages business owners who are normally listed in the ‘Guide’ to contact the DDC office if they have had any location or listing category changes over the past year. New businesses to the Downtown should also contact the DDC office to ensure that they are listed in the publication.

DDC Marketing and Special Events Coordinator, Gaylynne Lambert, says that “The ‘Pocket Guide’ is very popular among convention delegates, cruise ship passengers, as well as other visitors to the Downtown. As a result we only list businesses that pertain to these visitors in the ‘Guide’. A complete list of the businesses and organizations located Downtown is available in the business directory on our web site at www.downtownstjohns.com.

Ms. Lambert says that for more information about the ‘Pocket Guide”, she can be contacted at 726-8244 or by email at gaylynne@downtownstjohns.com