Route 97 Grill & Family Restaurant (formerly Smitty's) has opened in the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre,  2170 Harvey Ave., with the same great staff and service.

The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Route 97 offers a large breakfast menu of your favourite all-day classics – omlets, skillets, waffles, pancakes, shredded potatoes, and French toast. Route 97 is now also offering house-made pizza with  for eat-in or take-out. The lunch and dinner menu offers snacks and sharables, a large variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads and mains of fettuccine, roast beef, turkey dinners and schnitzel. They also offer a good variety of Greek menu items, including Greek wraps, and platters including Souvlaki and gyros. Route 97 is now serving local Cherry Hill coffee and uses many other local sourced products.

Cool Wings has just opened at 565 Bernard Ave. in the Food Hall of The District in downtown ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç. Owned and operated by Ash Nand, Richard Christian and Sushma Dean, this is the first new franchise location.  Cool Wings offer over 15 different types of wings, fries, dips, potato rings and veggies and come in cool, medium, hot and nuclear, along with dry and wet. Some of the varieties are Tokyo Drift (Japanese inspired with some heat), TPG (Truffle, parm and garlic); Honey Sizzler (Honey and Sriracha); Chili-Lima (Heat and lime juice); Teriyaki Timeout (Classic Teriyaki) and Boneyard Buffalo (Classic Buffalo Sauce). We sampled the Peaches N’ Heat, which was a perfect combination of sweet and heat and they were delicious. Dine-in and take-out of market mall hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday; Delivery by third party 10:00 a.m. to midnight. Coming soon is a take-out window on the Lawrence Avenue southwest parking lot which will be open until 3:00 a.m. seven days a week for customer pick-up. Cool Wings will even have benches for you to sit on while you wait for your wings.  

Trevor Lutes has a new role within Scotiabank as director of business development. This position allows Trevor to focus on expanding Scotiabank's presence and identifying new opportunities for both Scotiabank and Roynat Capital throughout the Greater BC Market, excluding the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. His emphasis will be on the mid-market commercial space, though Trevor's 30-plus years of banking experience enables him to support all parts of the bank, providing advice and guidance to business owners. 

In conjunction with Trevor's new role, Alex Pelens is the new director of group lead for Scotiabank Commercial Banking. Alex, who has been an integral part of their team as the associate group lead and has resided in ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç for over two years. He brings more than 16 years of banking experience to his new position.

After 16 years, Olive & Elle Boutique, at the corner of Lawrence and Pandosy, has a new owner. Alicia Meier, owner of the neighboring business Textile Apparel, located immediately next door on Pandosy Street, has purchased the business. Textile Apparel has been in its location for five years. Previous owner Linda Povarchook is retiring. Alicia will now continue with the same Olive & Elle quality products and add new products that customers cannot get elsewhere in the B.C. Interior.   

Mission SuperWash, on Lakeshore Road south of Mission Creek Bridge, along with Matte and Associates Financial Solutions and Freedom's Door will host the 8th annual Charity Car Wash & BBQ on Friday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Freedom's Door is a non-profit society assisting men with addictions and mental health issues for the past 22 years. They currently assist 99 people in a 12-step program, with a long-term live-in program of life skills and recovery training. Each car will be given a goody bag filled with free items from the sponsors. Drop in for a free hot dog and drink and enter into draws for great prizes while supporting Freedoms Door.

The 5th annual Parade with a Purpose is bringing its festive spirit to downtown ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç on Dec. 14, 6 p.m. What started with three humble floats in Kettle Valley, initiated by the Turgeon/Doty families, has now grown into a major community event. In 2021, the parade introduced a charitable component allowing businesses to sponsor floats for a $500 fee and through online donations and an after-party at the Kettle Valley Pub. It raised nearly $14,000 for The Bridge Youth & Family Services Youth Recovery House Campaign. Last year, the parade raised an impressive $118,000. This year their goal is the raise $250,000 for the Youth Recovery House. Organizers are now looking for a variety of sponsors ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 (one available). The floats require to be high-quality in craftsmanship and limit themes to maintain variety. Early registration is encouraged to secure your preferred theme. Prizes will be awarded. For more information about sponsorship or floats, contact Pam Turgeon at pamturg62@gmail.com or Shadia Doty at shadiadoty@shaw.ca.  

Lakeside Eco-Sports and A Taste of ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç Food Tours have both won the 2024 Viator Experience Awards, recognized among Best in Top Beverage Tours and Top Food Tours - Canada, based on exceptional ratings and reviews. Lakeside Eco-Sports is owned by husband-and-wife team Gareth Brown and Pamela Castillo, offering a host of tours and activities including the award-winning E-Bike Wine Tour and new for 2024, E-Bike and Gold Panning Expedition. A Taste of ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç Food Tour, owned locally by Andrew Deans, opened in May 2021 offering an engaging walking tour that delivers unique insight into the food scene in downtown ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç. Viator is a Tripadvisor company.  

Who decides to write a story about a post-menopausal art thief? VIXEN is a new book by local author Jarrod Thalheimer. It started more than 20 years ago with a short story that Jarrod wrote and has evolved from there into a book.  VIXEN, A Maggie Deacon Adventure is a not-quite-retired art thief who finds herself thrown back in the game. She was one of the best cat burglars to work in Europe. Now in her sixties, Maggie wants to enjoy the normal life, even as she misses the adrenaline of a heist. But when a friend’s humiliation by a charismatic billionaire forces her to action, Maggie’s choices pull her deep inside a cyclone of chaos involving a dead movie producer, his calculating widow, a mail-order mercenary, two arms dealing brothers, multiple Russian gangsters and one very sleazy art insurer. Jarrod worked with ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç book designer Alex Hennig. It is available locally at Mosaic Books, Pulp Fiction Coffee House, Bonanza Meats & Deli, Indigo at Orchard Park and online at Amazon. Jarrod will host a book signing at Indigo on Saturday, Sept. 14, rom 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The Greater Westside Board of Trade will host their Business After Hours on Sept.19, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Manchester Signs Printing and Graphics – $10 members, $20 future members. Register online at .

Bliss Bakery has opened a new location with a café in West ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç at 320-1405 Stevens Rd. With a huge renovation Bliss has brought a new look to the kitchen as the front space has been transformed into a welcoming café. It the perfect place to meet a friend, have a meeting or pick up dinner on the way home from a hectic day. Open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

UBC Okanagan’s latest Artist in Residence is Karen Zalamea, the third artist invited to the Woodhaven Eco Culture Centre for the summer residency and the first to be able to use the purpose-built art studio on the property. She will spend three weeks at the centre where she will work on her art practice, engage with the community and offer the in-person workshop. The new 360 square-foot studio is nestled in the trees on the property and offers a unique opportunity for artists to work creatively in the space. Zalamea is a Filipino-Canadian artist, educator and cultural worker whose photographic practice attends to issues of identity, culture and memory. To register for the workshop, visit fccs.ok.ubc.ca/about/events-workshops/artist-in-residence. 

The Friends of Fintry held its AGM and have some new faces have joined the board of directors – Tricia Berry, secretary, and Carol Ferguson and Cadi Middleton as directors. Long-time secretary Don Plant will stay on as a director and they say goodbye to Laura Barnard, who has moved to Trail. Dan Bruce is the Fintry house curator, Kathy Drew is the president of Friends of Fintry and Jaimie Rohatyn is the business manager. The Fintry Bat Festival is Sunday, Aug. 18.  

 Birthdays of the week: Roger Sellick (Aug. 7); Richelle Leckey (Aug. 7); Gary Johnston (Aug. 7); Marge Engelhart (Aug. 7); Hugh Feagan (Aug. 8); Ross Marrington (Aug. 8); Byron Nate (Aug. 8); Peter Schultz (Aug. 8); Tara Culbert (Aug. 8); Shari Rea (Aug. 9); Kathleen Stang (Aug. 9); Rose-Anne Turner (Aug.9); Patrick Comba (Aug. 10); Stuart Broughton (Aug. 10); Wilbur Turner (Aug. 10); Chris Petty (Aug. 10); Kevin Renwick (Aug. 10); Willy Burges (Aug 12); Cathy Slade (Aug. 12); Craig Hostland (Aug. 12); Kali Howden (Aug. 13); Abby Sones (Aug. 13); Dave Renner (Aug. 13); Tina Tang (Aug. 13); Michael Bafia (Aug. 13).  

The Specialty Bakery Birthday of the Week is Kali Howden. Kali, please pick up your cake at any Specialty Bakery by Aug. 13. Happy Birthday and Happy Eating!

Maxine DeHart is a ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç city councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, or email max@maxinedehart.ca.