SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
LOCAL TREASURES Amazing shops and stays are just a click away BY PAT ST. GERMAIN
They say every cloud has a silver lining. During a year of staycations and isolation, many of us found it in our own backyard. BRERETON LAKE RESORT Brereton Lake Resort owners Greg and Kim Ftoma saw more of their fellow Manitobans this summer than they’d seen in any of the 18 years since they bought their little piece of the Whiteshell. The resort’s restaurant is a popular culinary
WILLOW CREEK In Winkler, you might say the Willow Creek home and gift boutique was saved by the URL (willowcreekcurated.com). Proprietor Sonya Shiskoski and her children, Josh Shiskoski and daughter Des Hildebrand, marked the boutique’s second anniversary on Nov. 8. It was not a big celebration, but Sonya says despite restrictions and full-on lockdowns, workdays are busy. Curb-side pickups and local deliveries keep her hopping, and a strong website and social media presence attracted online shoppers from Winnipeg and across Canada before the pandemic hit. However, it is stressful. Transactions are much more complicated due to health and
oasis and even with COVID-19 distancing restrictions, business was booming. “May was patio only. In June, July, August and September at 50% capacity, I was 30% busier than last year,” Greg says. Word of mouth helps, and guests can check out the website (breretonlakeresort.ca) to see a menu, along with photos of the pet- friendly resort’s 12 inviting cabins. They can even book their stay online. Greg says weekends are always busy, but more guests booked weekday stays this summer, and into October, when business was up 60% over last year. Open year-round, the resort makes six of its 12 cabins available for winter recreation enthusiasts.
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WINTER 2020
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