Janice and Margo are the sisters behind Poor Sisters in Rosedale. Though it might be hard to find on maps, it’s easy to get to, and only minutes east of Drumheller, where they grew up. This isn’t Janice’s first career, far from it. She has worked in varied roles from emergency dispatch to eldercare. A common thread throughout her work has been looking after those around her. Janice studied holistic nutrition, with a special interest in using food for healing. She loves creating menus and caring for others through food.

After many years of living and working in Calgary, she was happy to return to the valley to be closer to family. When Covid hit, Janice was spending long hours helping seniors and their families navigate the pandemic, “the hardest year of my life”, she says. Fortuitously, a building in Rosedale became available as she was contemplating her next move. “It was meant to be”, Janice says, “I tried to walk away but it kept coming back to me!”

Full disclosure - Bikes and Bites is not a Community Futures Big Country client, but we're so excited to have them in the community that Michael Love was their first customer!

Lana Phillips and Natalie Lum arrived in the Drumheller Valley for a quick summer getaway in 2020 – the Ontario transplants were living in Edmonton at the time. When they arrived in Drumheller they were intrigued by what they saw – a coffee roastery, a pride crosswalk, and miles and miles of scenic bike paths! Within a year of that initial trip the couple were serving their first customers at “Bikes and Bites”, a creative enterprise bringing together their experience, talents and passions.

Just a few short years ago Candace and Chris Lorenz were happily advancing their careers in Calgary. Chris, a SAIT Culinary graduate, opened a new restaurant in Inglewood and, “had five spectacular weeks” of operating before the pandemic took hold. While Chris opened and closed (and opened and closed) the restaurant in accordance with AHS restrictions, Candace, a graphic designer, stopped going in to work and started #WFH. With the restaurant industry radically disrupted, Chris decided to get creative. He started making fresh sausages with quality, local ingredients. Soon, “Sausages for the Apocalypse” were flying off the shelves.

Around the same time, the couple was searching for their dream house. They watched as Calgary’s inner-city neighbourhoods became less and less accessible. Eventually they broadened their search to include surrounding communities and fell in love with Drumheller. They found the house they wanted and soon thereafter relocated. Chris accepted a position as an Executive Chef while Candace continued to work from home. They were surprised by how quickly they felt a part of their new community. Creative, collaborative business ideas started to percolate.

Candice Dow already had 20 years of experience in retail fashion before she opened Fashion Sense Boutique, in September 2018. But it was more than just the day-to-day management experience she had gained over that time – even more important were the relationships she had developed with customers, who showed amazing support for her new venture, she says. “I feel that it is imperative to cultivate those personal relationships, especially with a small, independent business – you can’t rely on the history or name recognition of a chain store. Genuine and reliable customer service is of the utmost importance.”