Like just about all business owners these days, Asselstine Hardware owner Andrew Asselstine is concerned over the health and safety of his staff and customers. So, this past weekend, he built a little drive-through kiosk onto the front of the store where he can serve customers without them having to enter the store.

“With my wife being a healthcare worker at Providence Hospital, I’m well aware of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said. “And I was concerned about the staff and customers.”

And the drive-through seems to be a hit, not only for its conscientiousness, but also as a rather humorous oddity in trying times.

“A little bit of humour never hurts,” Asselstine said. “It’s been a great response.

“We’ve had 25,000 likes on Facebook — 20,000 in the first 24 hours.”

He said he hopes it’ll help keep people’s spirits up and at the same time promote more awareness of social distancing.

“I’m surprised at how many people are still unaware,” he said. “I’ve had people come in and ask ‘why did you do this?’ and ‘is this about the virus thing?’”

And then, he’s also had more humorous queries like “Should you be asking ‘do you want fries with that hammer?’”

If nothing else, the positive comments have done a world of good for Asselstine himself.

“Amongst all the negativity around retail right now, it’s nice to have a little positive feedback,” he said.

The grocery business is tough in normal times, and these are not normal times. Stores are adept at tracking the sales of hundreds of product lines by the day, week, and month in order to stock what people are looking for most or all of the time.

Ten days ago, well ingrained shopping patterns were tossed out the window. At the same time, well established cleaning protocols were turned into what one grocer described to me as “OCD cleaning”, and that was before the social distancing regimes were even in the cards.

Store owners and managers have been scrambling for product, learning about new and teaching their staff and customers about brand new safety standards, dealing with unprecedented demand, and setting up new pickup and delivery services, all at the same time.

Here is a rundown about what the stores are up to, from north west to southeast this time.

Northbrook Foodland

The store’s hours have been reduced somewhat, but they are still pretty long, from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week, and also from 7am-8am for seniors only. They are also offering both a delivery and pickup service from Monday to Friday for people who can’t get out or have returned from travel. Customers can call 613-336-2647 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to place an order. Delivery orders sent in early in the day will sometimes be delivered that afternoon, the next day at the latest.

“We have an amazing amount of support from the local community, and so many offers of help,” Charlene Van Dusen said this week. “We have had to make so many changes to everything that we are doing, just about every day, and I’m sure there will be more as time goes on.”

Her biggest concern at the moment is to ensure the safety of the store’s customers and staff. To do that the floors in the store have had spots marked off where customers need to wait in order to keep everyone two metres apart at all times.

North of 7 - Plevna

Bill James of the North of 7 restaurant and grocery store said that all in all things have “gone pretty well” thus far.

The store has been busy and he has been ordering extra food, and dealing with some shortages, “but all in all we have been able to keep everyone supplied with what they need. The store remains open during its normal hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am-5pm on Sunday. The extra cleaning and constant sanitising has been a burden for staff, and the restaurant, which was very busy through February this years because snowmobile traffic was up over the last few years, has been slowed down by the new rules, since it is only open for takeout on Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-7pm. Telephone orders are preferred.

The store is also offering a delivery service for groceries. Orders need to be called in Mondays, Tuesday morning at the latest to 613-464-2155.

Mike Deans Grocery store – Sharbot Lake

Gordon Dean, who owns stores in Bourget and Winchester as well as Sharbot Lake, hasn’t been to Sharbot Lake that much over the last few weeks. He has been spending most of his days in his office in Chesterville calling suppliers and making arrangements to keep his stores supplied in the face of unprecedented demand. As an independent, he had the advantaged of more inventory than most affiliated stores carry, but that did not last.

“We sold a year’s worth of toilet paper in two days,” he said, “I had some advance warning from the experience in other countries that toilet paper might become an item for hoarding, but there was no way anyone could keep up.”

Not only has he been working day and night to keep stock, he has been working with staff in all three stores to increase sanitation and now social distancing protocols. The store is open shorter hours than before, 9am-7:30pm every day, and delivery is available now as well, for those who can’t get to the store.

“I’ve been through other disasters over the years,” Gord Dean said, “ice storms, power outages, other weather events, but nothing like this. This is much bigger.”

Establishing distance protocols in the store has been a priority this week, and it has been a challenge. There are posters, message on screens in the store, hand sanitizers at entrances and staff have been informing customers, but “it has been a challenge” he said. Plexiglass at cashier stations will be coming later this week.

Verona Foodland

Verona Foodland has made some important changes in order to respond to the COVID-19 reality. As of Monday, March 23, the store has shortened hours, from 8am – 6pm Monday to Saturday and 9am-6pm on Sunday (LCBO hours are 9-6) , but it will also be open between 7am and 8am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for seniors only in order to provide a safer time to shop for a more vulnerable sector of the population.

“This is a really important time for our store,” said Clint Reid, who owns the store with his wife, Andrea. “There is a need in the community for our products, as everyone knows, and we need to keep our staff healthy as well.

The store is taking some extra measures, with help from community members, by offering delivery, for seniors and people who are self isolating due to travel or an illness with COVID-19 like symptoms.

The delivery service is on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Fridays. Orders must be called in by noon on the day before delivery to 613-374-2112. Customers need to provide their name, address, phone number, and credit card information.

The store management also wants to remind all those who are returning to the community from the south that these systems are in place to enable them to get the products they need to remain safe while self isolating. Feel free to call a neighbour or the store to get the ball rolling.

Local Family Farms – Verona

Kim Perry of Local Family Farms, carries locally produced meat and many other products, and also makes soups, pies and entrees. With so many people at home, cottagers coming to stay, she has been busy getting stock in and very busy in the kitchen keeping up with demand for prepared meals. She has also been sending people to other stores in the area for items that she does not carry and had people come her way from those stores.

“We are all working together, which we always do, but even more so now,” she said.

Gilmour’s on 38 Harrowsmith

For the most part, it has been business as usual at Gilmour’s, but it has been very busy. The store has been able to keep up with the demand for meat, and other grocery items. This week, they are starting up a delivery service to help those in isolation. Orders are being taken by phone to 613-449-2384. The service is free but they will be accepting donations with each delivery which will be passed to the food bank.

The store is open 8am-6pm daily, except Friday 8am-7pm, and Sunday 9am-4pm.

Trousdale’s Foodland – Sydenham

It has been a challenge for Trousdale’s to keep up with unprecedented demand and deal with extra sanitation protocols and social distancing, just like the other stores in the area. Trousdale’s has been delivering food orders to seniors in Sydenham, quietly, for years. Because of that, they were the first store in the area to expand their delivery when COVID-19 came along, and the demand has been increasing. Call the store for details, 613-376-6609.

Glenburnie Grocery – Glenburnie

As a family owned, community centred store, Glenburnie grocery has depended on it staff, customers and volunteers to keep up over the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve been adjusting to a new normal all the time,” said Courtney Rickards, who works with her husband Mark, who purchased the store from his father almost 20 years ago.

The store is opening from 10am-6pm every day now in order to give enough time to clean and allow staff to get some rest, and is also open from 9am-10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

It would have been impossible to set up delivery, even though there is a community need right now, but for a local business stepping up and offering. Heart to Heart Senior’s Services is handling the entire process, from ordering to delivery. They can be reached at 613-767-0820 or 613-453-7668 to make arrangements.

“That allows us to work on keeping the shelves stocks, and always being friendly with out customers, fro a distance now,” she said.

The News contacted some restaurant and food business owners on Monday, in advance of the announcement on closure. The situation was fluid at the time as on Monday morning Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, said that restaurant closures were not being contemplated at this time. He also said that even a restriction to 50% seating capacity, which had been instituted in Quebec over the weekend was not on the cards in Ontario.

By the end of Monday, that had changed, and he said he was encouraging restaurants and bars to think about shutting down. This followed a statement by Prime Minister Trudeau early in the afternoon, at the tail end of a press conference, had been focussed primarily on the borders and restrictions on foreign travel.

Trudeau implored Canadians, whether they are sick or well, to stay home as much as possible and to communicate with each other by phone and email and video chat.

One restaurant, Muddy Waters in Verona, was contemplating putting reserved signs on half the tables in their restaurant after hearing the news on Monday. Business had been dropping off over the last two weeks, after a pretty strong January and February, even before any talk of restrictions. They said that they were expecting, given the pace of announcements by governments over the last few days, that the half capacity measures were not the end of it and they would likely be shut down before too long.

By Tuesday morning, they had been proven correct. At 8:30 the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, announced that all restaurants in the Province need to suspend sit down service, and can only offer take-out food.

That will mean immediate layoffs in the restaurants. In the case of Muddy Waters, for example, they might keep two people on at a time, a cook and someone on cash, and how viable they will be as a take-out only enterprise is anyone’s guess.

Other businesses were already feelings the effects of the dramatic downturn in the restaurant industry this month in Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston. Seed to Sausage, which producessells to high end restaurants, was in the midst of layoffs as early as Monday morning, as orders had been canceled already.

It isn’t as if too many people will get lost if they go to the former Arden Batik location on Elm Tree Road in Arden. The new location will be in sight and only a few steps away in the converted hotel where Sarah Hale has lived for over 45 years. But for Sarah Hale, the change of location will bring her batik business back to where it started.

It will also allow her access to a full-size studio on a year-round basis, and more wall space to show the larger, framed batiks that she is most interested in creating.

Sarah dates her career as a professional batik artist to the first larger craft show that she attended in 1977. She remembers the day well, because after packing up for the day she drove to Perth hospital to give birth to her daughter Julia. For the next 20 years she travelled to craft shows, large and small, across the province, selling larger and smaller framed and unframed pieces, famous Arden Batik name cards, and more.

Gradually, first at a shop located next to the Arden post office, and since 2001 from the former café at the bottom of the hill, Arden Batik has been open throughout the summer and by chance or appointment in the shoulder seasons.

Now, the same basic selling hours will be maintained in the hotel, with half of the bottom floor setup as a shop and a studio. Sarah will not be attending any shows or studio tours this year “in order to focus on the store,” she said.

She said that at this point she is not really interested in “growing my business just maturing it, and having the freedom to explore some more challenging work.”

After over 40 years using the wax resist batik method to capture the feel of the Canadian shield landscape in her work, it will be interesting for her fans and admirers from near and far to see where her work goes in this new/old space.

Arden batik will be open on Saturday and Sunday afternoon this weekend, and by chance or appointment until mid-June when it will be open for regular summer hours.

Liz Bonser is a retiree on Brewer Roar near Sharbot Lake, and has been seeking an outlet for her creative energy.

She found it by attending a workshop in Ottawa that introduced her to Paverpol, a glue-like material that hardens when it dries. Using it as a textile hardener, it can be used to make statues, both for indoors and outdoors, as well as abstract objects, wall decorations, vases, bowls, animals, jewelry and masks.

She took to it right away.

“I love this art form so much, from the start. I took the intensive teacher’s course and am now a certified instructor,” she said. “Being who I am and always looking for ways to have fun I decided to start my own business.”

She now has a studio space set up in her home, where she is able to do her own work and is also offering workshops for others who are interested in working with Paverpol.

“This art is so easy and so much fun to work with. Yes, everyone is an artist even if they don't think they are. There are still so many more new ways to create using Paverpol.”

Starting this month, Liz will be conducting workshops for 3-5 participants in May and June. Participants will create a seated figure. For those who really enjoy the process, intermediate and specialty workshops are also being planned, and Liz also sells Paverpol so people can work on their own projects at home.

For information about Paverpol and dates of upcoming workshops, or to see a gallery of Liz Bonser’s work, go to openingmindsinnovations.ca.

Long a service centre for seasonal residents, Sharbot Lake is fast becoming a hub for business and tourism in Rural Frontenac

Given that reality, the Sharbot Lake Business Group (SLBG) was formed last year to foster more co-operation among local business owners. Recognising the importance of tourism, The SLBG quickly formed a taskforce on tourism, with a more regional focus.

The taskforce is holding a one-day conference for at Arden’s Camp Kennebec on May 4th

It will be sponsored by OHTO – the Ontario Highlands Tourist Organization with its ‘Come Wander’ brand; and will be supported by Frontenac County’s Ambassador Program with its ‘#InFrontenac’ brand. 

In consultations sponsored by the SLBG last fall, one of the major challenges identified was a silo mentality for both businesses and government, resulting in a sense of isolation. Conference Chair Greg Rodgers has identified a new aspect of this mentality. A small but growing number entrepreneurs are now doing business on the internet – but not so much locally. Our first-ever tourism conference aims to provide a collaborative experience, one that announces a new day for tourism in Rural Frontenac.

In the morning there will be a presentation from Haliburton’s Barrie Martin of ‘Yours Outdoors’, who will share the latest in experiential tourism. Eganville’s Chris Hinsperger of ‘Bonnechere Caves’ will share his enthusiasm for collaboration. A third character will be also be presenting. It will be the first showing of our ‘County Sampler’, a selection of tastes and art representing a diverse group of Rural Frontenac producers!

The afternoon will focus on the areas of accommodations, food, artists, experiences and support services. As an outcome, we look forward to the expansion of our tourism task force for announcing Rural Frontenac as a new destination for tourists across north eastern North America and the world.

Our conference is out to serve businesses from Frontenac County, Addington and Lanark Highlands.

Of the 50 spaces in the conference, 15 are still available. Interested in coming out to beautiful Camp Kennebec to help kickstart a new era in tourism?

Call Greg Rodgers at 613-279-3006.

Leonard Chan started working in his uncle’s pharmacy, as a volunteer, when he was just a kid. Later he worked in local pharmacies in Mississauga, where he is from, as a part-time and summer job.

When he went to University of Waterloo in 2006, he took a science degree with a pre-health option, and then took a pharmacy degree in the co-op program. Between co-op placements and work in the field since graduating he has worked in a variety of settings, including hospitals and for Health Canada as a program officer in the medical marijuana division.

As his career has progressed he has focused on bringing some of the modern aspects of pharmaceutical medicine to an independent, community based practice.

“Out of all the places I worked, I always found myself drawn back to the community setting and always wanted to open my own Pharmacy one day. Pharmacists are the most accessible health care professionals,” he said, when interviewed a couple of weeks ago as he was putting the finishing touches on the new Inverary Pharmasave.

For the past three and a half years Leonard has been working at the Gananoque Pharmasave as a clinical pharmacist.

Taking the job in Gananoque meant moving to the Kingston area for Leonard and his wife Rachel. The proximity to nature has been a welcome change for the couple, allowing them to enjoy the outdoors more.

“We love the outdoors and often camp, fish and hike in our leisure. It was these hobbies which attracted us to the South Frontenac area as we often canoe at South Frontenac Park and in neighbouring lakes.”

Leonard knew that he wanted to open his own pharmacy at some point, and when he got to know the region a bit better, he saw an opportunity.

“We realised there was a void that could be filled by opening a pharmacy in Inverary, with all the surrounding areas such as Perth Road Village, Battersea, Sunbury, Davidson's Beach and Glenburnie which could potentially utilize our services. The Inverary area is also growing at a rapid pace with the construction of new homes and developments, two new commercial buildings and a recent return of the LCBO outlet.”

The new Inverary Pharmasave is located just south of the hamlet on the east side of the road at 3810 Perth Road, in a new building that is set back from the 24 hour automated gas station.

The pharmacy is open Monday to Friday, from 9am – 6pm. Leonard’s vision of the pharamacy is as more than place to pick up medications, vitamins and household supplies.

“We want to be a healthcare hub, where people come to get advice and utilize some of the services our Pharmacy has to offer,” he said.

Among the services that Inverary Pharmasave are bringing on right away are: smoking cessation counselling; travel health counseling to ensure people are fully prepared and take the right precautions when traveling out of the country; medalign to ensure medications are filled on schedule; and strep throat an urinary tract infection testing.

Also, the store offers MyDNA Personalized Medication Test.

“Everyone has a unique genetic profile determines how their body processes certain medications. Some people process certain medications too quickly and receive little or no benefit. Others process some medications too slowly and have an increased risk of dangerous side effects. The myDNA Medication reports can help us personalise treatment by selecting the medications and doses that may work better for individuals.”

Inveray Pharmasave is also committed to being part of the resurgence of local business in South Frontenac and rural Kingston. As he was setting up the store, Leonard asked around and used social media to find products he could use in the new store.

Among those that he found were farmacy bath and beauty products from Harrowsmith, Litsie Creations from Perth Road who make artisan fabric bags, will be providing flax seed heat packs and maybe epipen bags at the pharmacy. The pharmacy also worked with Westwood Rustic Living of Glenburnie who are making the exterior sign for the store, and Rust and Roses Design, or Elginburg, who make metal signs.

Opening a new store is a big step for Leonard Chan, and along with a baby on the way 2018 is a year of big, positive changes for the Chan family.

South Frontenac Council had no objections to the concept of four amplified music events at Desert Lake Campground this year at its regular Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday night in Sydenham but have suggested a 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. timeframe rather than the 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. that the campground owners had requested.

The dates in question are July 1, July 14, Aug. 4 and Aug. 28.

Last year, Council granted exemptions from the Noise Bylaw for four events with the stipulation that the dates be forwarded three weeks in advance, be subject to assessment by Bylaw Services and be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

While there were no complaints registered, there was a suggestion that one of the events lasted beyond 10 p.m.

Coun. John McDougall told the 7:30 to 10:30 time was a compromise solution suggested by the Lake Association.

“This is a business that has been there for 50 years, log before many people on the lake got their little piece of heaven,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal. “I don’t know why we would want to penalize them without any concerns.

“(But) it has to be made clear to them that if there are complaints and they come back to us next year, we will be stricter.”

A resident’s request to buy a road allowance on the edge of his property will have to wait until Frontenac Provincial Park has a chance to decide how the road allowance relates to its new management plan.

The road allowance in question leads from shore to shore (of Big Clear Lake and Milk Lake) and is only accessed by a private lane and private land. Township policy related to the sale would result in a total price of about $42,730.

Coun. Mark Schjerning advocated for the sale to be approved, arguing that there was a chance Park policies could change and the Township would receive no money for the land.

Planner Lindsay Mills said that there was also a possibility the land could be split down the middle with one side each getting half.

“But if we do decide to sell, we’d have to ask the neighbours as we would with any such sale and the Park abuts the land,” Mills said.

Coun. Brad Barbeau said the Park has had six months to voice any objections and there was a limit to how long a landowner should have to wait for a decision.

Mayor Ron Vandewal said he and CAO Wayne Orr had met with the Park superintendent who told them he had to wait for a decision from his superiors.

Council decided to wait until that happened but also put a 90-day deadline to hear back from Park officials.

• • •

Mayor Ron Vandewal told Council that the new drug store in Inverary is scheduled to open Feb. 20.

Christine Lavallee opened Lavallee’s Inverary store last January 1. The store is located in the centre of Inverary in the location of the former Inverary store. It carries what you would expect to find in a convenience store, but over the last year it has also brought in dozens of local products, and has become an enthusiastic supporter of the Infrontenac branding initiative.

“We have found that there is a market for excellent local products, such as the salsa that T&A Condiments make, Hanna meat pies, and other products both from Frontenac County and nearby,” Christine Lavallee said, when interviewed the store last week.

While running the store, she has also noticed there is a market for fresh baking as well as quality take home food. And that is where the idea for a new, complementary business came in.

“We can’t keep up with the demand for baked goods, and I thought if we could have a kitchen to work out of it would be good for us and the community.”

Not one to wait too long for the dust to settle, Lavallee, who ran a restaurant in Kingston between 2003 and 2008, jumped at the opportunity to be an anchor tenant in a new commercial building that has been completed just south of the hamlet, on the Campbell property, which is located next door to the Northway Home Hardware/LCBO store and includes the 24 hour gas pumps. The building is also set to house a pharmacy in the new year.

The Cookery includes a retail space of about 1,000 square feet as well as two commercial kitchens, one for the cookery and a second for other commercial food businesses in the area who need to use shared, approved facilities to make their products.

“This new building is a tremendous space. There is lots of parking, lots of light,” she said, showing off the still to be renovated space (a building permit from SF township is pending) on a sunny day last week.

The Cookery will be open early in the morning with coffee, baked goods, breakfast sandwiches and take out lunch items for large commuter traffic on Perth Road/Division street as they head into Kingston for work. It will also be open when those same commuters head home.

“These are busy people that work full time. Everybody that I talk to, seems to be in the same boat. The are driving home, wanting to cook a good meal for their family. We will be offering good quality, well prepared meals for people to bring home and serve,” she said. “and we won’t stand still. The Cookery will change what it offers to keep things fresh, and to bring new products on the market.”

Look for the Cookery to open early in 2018.

Construction is now underway for a third gas station located near the junction of Road 38 and Hwy. 7.

The project is being undertaken by Gama Engineering of Woodbridge, and company President Wajid Mansuri said that work on the site is progressing quickly after late fall start, but much of the outdoor work will soon come to a halt and will have to wait until March or April to get underway.

The building on the site, which used to house The Junction in recent years, is being renovated to accommodate a convenience store and a take-out fast food operation.

“It will have Pizza Pizza or subs or something like that,” Mansuri said, but the details of that end of the business are still to be finalised.

“The gas station will not run 24 hours a day.” Mansuri also said.

The property was sold two years ago, but it has taken time for the new owner to obtain the planning approvals necessary for opening the new use on the site.

Before getting underway, they needed a minor variance for a diminished number of parking spots, 14 instead of 18, approval from the Health Unit for a septic system, a building permit, and tentative approval from the Ministry of Transportation for the construction of an exit ramp off Hwy. 7.

Mansuri said that the exit ramp, which will be built by the ministry and financed by the applicant, will likely be in place well before the business is ready to open.

“Construction needs to be completed, a manager for the operation needs to be hired, the owner has a lot to do before opening and the ramp should be in by then. If not we will have to work something out with the ministry,” he said.

The owner of the new business is Darmesh Shah, according to information provided by the township of Central Frontenac. He is from the Toronto area.