Focus On: Business in Northumberland

Jana Crawford and Graham Smith were looking at opening a craft brewery and cider operation and since both had a long time connection with Rice Lake. In 2017 they started to seriously look for a location locally and in July 2018 they finally landed with their present location in Baltimore. After a year and a half of going through the licensing process, they were given approval to manufacture and sell cider in March 2020. Listen as Jana explains the challenges faced not only in starting a new business at what turned out to be the beginning of a pandemic, but how other factors continued to force Rice Lake Hard Cider to be agile and pivot to find a way to get to market. Find out more about Rice Lake Hard Cider here: https://www.ricelakehardcider.ca

Steve Wilkes brought the marketing platform Get In The Loop to Northumberland to make it easier for local businesses to connect digitally with local consumers. Consumers can download a free app to find out which local businesses are connected to Get In The Loop and what their business does and what special promotions may be available for them. Steve launched the Northumberland franchise in March 2020 - 4 days before the initial COVID-19 lock down. 18 months later, the Shop Local idea has really taken hold and Steve is looking forward to having Get In The Loop help to promote the local businesses of Northumberland to the residents and visitors to the County. Find out more about Get In The Loop Northumberland here: https://www.facebook.com/getintheloopnorthumberland

Chantelle Watt decided at her wedding that a possible career as a Wedding Photographer might be in her future. After only a couple of years of trying it out part-time, Chantelle’s contract was ended by her employer while she was on maternity leave and gave her the push to give it a go as a full time pursuit. Chantelle now has a thriving business in not only Wedding photography, but Family Photography and Business Branding as well. Listen as she explains the ups and downs of running your own business during a pandemic time. Find out more about Chantelle Watt Photography here: https://www.chantellewatt.com

George Kallonakis took his concept of a burger challenge that was named after a Greek God and called the Labour of Hercules, and used it as the basis of an entire menu of burgers that matched the personalities of the different Greek deities of Olympus. Opened in July of 2013, fame quickly followed, with being featured on television’s You Gotta Eat Here in 2016, then named Canadian Living’s Best Burger in Canada in 2017, and then becoming Canada’s first Carbon Zero Certified restaurant in 2018. George talks about his inspiration to make the eco-friendly change and what the impact of the pandemic has been to this Port Hope institution. Find out more about Olympus Burger here: http://olympusburger.ca

Local girl Michelle Flay became an RMT through Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2004 and started her career with Serenity Day Spa in Cobourg. She then expanded her experience and worked with sports injury practitioners in Durham Region and Toronto, including members of the Toronto Rock lacrosse team. After getting married and moving to Petawawa and working with the returning troops from Afghanistan, Michelle developed her approach of treating the entire person who suffers from catastrophic injuries and eventually returned home to share this treatment with the residents of Northumberland. Find out more about Holistic Family Wellness Centre here: https://holisticfamilywellness.com

Will took his mother’s family secret hot mustard recipe and decided to market it to Ontario during the pandemic, creating Linden’s Gourmet. Listen as he describes how the interest in food and the kitchen over the last 18 months has benefited this burgeoning condiment company. And if starting a business during a pandemic isn’t enough of a challenge, Linden’s entered the World Wide Mustard competition and won a bronze medal first time out - all of this in less than a year! Find out more about all of their products and Linden’s Gourmet here: http://lindensgourmet.com

Harry Heydon started Blades of Glory in 1994 in Hastings to educate the public about Medieval history and sword fighting. Along with an annual Medieval Festival, Blades of Glory works with Ontario schools to teach kids first hand both in schools and at their educational theme park in Hastings. While the pandemic shut down the shows, Blades of Glory have kept busy by introducing a sword fighting school with classes in Hastings, Oshawa, and Port Hope. Find out more about Blades of Glory here: https://bladesofglory.ca

Erin and Nick Cluley ran coffee shops in Toronto before moving to Port Hope to live. Their next step was open a location in downtown Port Hope...which turned into a coffee pub + bakery in Port Hope...which turned into a coffee pub and bakery in Port Hope + coffee pub in Cobourg. Listen as Erin explains the evolution of Happenstance in Northumberland. Find out more about Happenstance here: https://www.thisishappenstance.com

Derek Sharp explains the recent history of wrestling in the Northumberland area and how Northumberland Pro Wrestling was born in late 2020...only to be brought to a halt after their first event, due to the pandemic. Listen as Derek explains the plans for the future for wrestling in Northumberland as we move forward. Find out more about Northumberland Pro Wrestling here: https://northumberlandpro.com

Krown has been in Northumberland for more than 25 years and Mark Dayman has been involved for almost from the start. Now the owner of the Northumberland location, Mark moved the business from Cobourg to its present location in Port Hope on March 1, 2020 - just in time to be closed for the next 17 weeks. For the next year, Mark describes how he and his sons worked at providing quality rust control for the people and businesses of Northumberland, while staying safe and protecting the health of their customers and themselves. Find out more about Krown Rust Control here: https://www.krown.com/en/locations/canada/ontario/port-hope/william