Newest link in Stella’s chain to take over former EQ3 Bistro space at CF Polo Park

People shopping for furniture at Winnipeg’s largest mall will soon be able to quaff a coffee and partake in a pastry while they consider acquiring a couch.

Local restaurant chain Stella’s is opening a café inside local furniture manufacturer EQ3’s flagship store in CF Polo Park. The renovated café will be located in the former EQ3 Bistro space and is scheduled to open early next month.

“We’re at (EQ3’s) flagship store and we would consider this our flagship Stella’s Café,” said Rob Del Grosso, vice-president of operations at Stella’s.

Best known for its seven restaurants, Stella’s opened its first café location, a 30-seat spot at 1699 Corydon Ave., in December 2022. Its focus is on a grab-and-go area featuring paninis, sandwiches, salads and freshly baked goods. The EQ3 location will offer similar items and the menu will feature wine, beer and mocktails.

Ex-grocery boss Jones to make ‘big announcement’ amid B.C. Conservative race

VICTORIA - Former grocery executive Darrell Jones says he'll be making a "big announcement" next week as he considers running for the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives.

Jones, whose announcement is scheduled for Tuesday in Surrey, B.C., said last month that he was "seriously considering" running for the position vacated by John Rustad last month.

The former president of Save-On-Foods who is best known for his "Darrell's deals" television advertisements declined to reveal the nature of the announcement in a brief interview.

However, a website linked to an invitation to the announcement by Jones on social media includes a section seeking volunteers, sign locations and new party members.

Sergio’s Pasta lets customers use their noodle to mix and match own meal

Sergio’s Pasta, a weeks-old enterprise, invites diners to build their own meal for takeout or delivery by going online and selecting from among four varieties of fresh pasta, six in-house sauces, four proteins, eight vegetables and nine add-ons, such as chili oil and oregano.

Buy Canadian movement at grocers could ramp up again during trade talks

Some shoppers may no longer check labels at the grocery store so intently to see which products have Canadian ties as the buy Canadian movement that swept the country has waned.

About a year since the fresh wave of patriotism set in at the grocery store, many shoppers have returned to buying the cheapest option available – no matter the origin.

However, with the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement up for review this year, it sets the stage for intensified rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs and threats of annexing Canada. Experts say it could also pave the way for a fresh wave of the buy Canadian sentiment. 

"Based on the direction that the trade talks would take, we will see that fervor returning back into the shopping decision," predicted Amar Singh, senior director and head of Canadian retail insights at Kantar. 

Quebec’s finance minister says Ontario’s Crown Royal whisky ban is misguided

MONTREAL - Quebec's finance minister says he has shared his concerns with his Ontario counterpart about that province's intention to remove Crown Royal whisky from government-owned liquor stores, saying now is not the time to further disrupt Canadian supply chains.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said the Crown Royal boycott, which he intends to launch next month, is in retaliation for parent company Diageo deciding to close its bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ont. The Ontario facility closure will affect about 200 jobs.

Ford has said he thinks the Ontario jobs will end up in the United States. Last year, Diageo announced the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Alabama.

Diageo, the United Kingdom-based alcoholic beverage giant, has said Crown Royal destined for Canada and non-U.S. export markets will be bottled at its existing Quebec facility in Valleyfield, Que., southwest of Montreal.

Economists expect inflation held steady in December despite ‘tax holiday’ disruption

OTTAWA - Economists will be sorting through plenty of noise in the annual inflation figures when Statistics Canada releases fresh price data for December on Monday.

A Reuters survey of economists expects the annual inflation rate held steady at 2.2 per cent in December, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Economists at RBC are among those calling for inflation to be unchanged in December.

An estimated eight per cent drop in the price of gasoline last month is expected to offset stickiness in food inflation, assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen wrote in a note to clients Friday.

Canadian retail sales up 1.3 per cent in November at $70.4 billion: StatCan

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 1.3 per cent to $70.4 billion in November after a deal was reached in B.C. to end a labour dispute that affected the province's liquor distribution branch.

The agency says retail sales were up in eight of the nine subsectors it tracks with the food and beverage retailers gaining 3.0 per cent.

Sales at beer, wine and liquor retailers helped lift the subsector as they rose 14.3 per cent in November, rebounding after an 11.8 per cent drop in October amid the labour disruptions in B.C. that impacted the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

Core retail sales — which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers — rose 1.6 per cent in November.

Grocers say they’re being squeezed by Manitoba milk-price freeze

WINNIPEG - A group that represents independent grocers says its members are being hurt by the Manitoba government's freeze on the retail price of one-litre cartons of milk.

The government's move hits retailers at a time when their wholesale prices are going up, which will eat into thin profit margins, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers said Friday.

"It's not sustainable," Gary Sands, a senior vice-president with the group, said from Toronto.

"Independent grocers operate on roughly an overall margin of two per cent profit. That's to pay your staff, keep the lights on, etc. If your (wholesale) price increases are beyond two per cent, how in anyone's business model do you keep operating without passing that on to your customers?"

Meal kit company Goodfood reports $2.6M Q1 loss, net sales down from year ago

MONTREAL - Goodfood Market Corp. reported a first-quarter loss of $2.6 million as its net sales fell 21 per cent compared with year ago.

The meal kit company says the loss amounted to three cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 6.

That's compared with a loss of $1.7 million or two cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Net sales in what was the company's first quarter totalled $27.5 million, down from $34.7 million a year ago.

Manitoba government freezes the price of a litre of milk, eyes more price caps

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government is freezing the maximum price of one-litre cartons of milk for this year and is considering price controls on larger containers.

Manitoba is among the few provinces that regulate the retail price of milk, and there are different maximum prices for skim, two per cent and other varieties.

The prices range from $1.93 a litre for skim milk to $2.10 a litre for homogenized, with a small additional amount in rural areas.

Premier Wab Kinew says keeping prices stable this year means milk can stay within reach for families that want to make healthy choices.

Maple Leaf Foods sees revenue rising by mid-single digit in 2026, ups dividend

MISSISSAUGA - Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is raising its quarterly dividend as it expects a mid-single digit increase in revenue for fiscal 2026 compared with 2025.

The company says its adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $520 million and $540 million, driven by revenue growth and margin improvement from various initiatives.

Maple Leaf is also planning to spend about $160 million to $180 million on maintenance, productivity improvements and automation.

The protein packaging company says it is raising its quarterly dividend by approximately 10 per cent from 19 cents per share to 21 cents.

Culinary couple have been all over the map, but ‘family’ of loyal clientele always tracks them down

A fair number of businesses in the city are partly named for their street location. Sargent Blue Jeans. Pembina Insurance Services. Corydon Cycle & Sports.

What happens, then, if the roadway highlighted on your business sign suddenly goes “poof,” causing customers to scratch their head while they drive around in circles, trying to find you?

That was the predicament friends Lee Finch and Nicole Fanshaw found themselves in seven years ago when DeVries Avenue, the thoroughfare that led to their restaurant Lee’s on DeVries, was permanently barricaded east of Henderson Highway to pave the way for a new housing development.

“It was a huge headache, especially because there’s a DeVries Avenue that runs parallel to Lagimodière Boulevard, so when people were Googling us, it was taking them over there,” says Finch, seated next to Fanshaw inside what is now called Lee’s Restaurant, a homey, open-to-the-general-public diner that since 2007 has operated out of the Royal Canadian Legion’s East St. Paul branch.

‘Frantic’ first days as Atlantic Canada sells off U.S. booze; wine, bourbon dominate

ST. JOHN'S - Liquor corporations in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador say they have sold roughly half their inventory of American booze since putting it back on shelves last month to sell off for charity.

Bruce Keating, chief executive of the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, said the first few days of sales were "absolutely frantic," but the pace has since tapered off to what he described as normal. Staff were rushing to get products on the shelves across the province, and customers were eager to buy, he said.

"At many, many stores … we would have had lineups of 50, 60, 80 people waiting for the doors to open," Keating said in an interview. "It was almost like a Black Friday mindset going on."

So far, sales are approaching roughly half of the liquor corporation's initial $3.2-million inventory of U.S. products, he said.