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.

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.”