San Vito gets a boost from Canada Life

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This article was published 09/03/2021 (1902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A St. James eatery recently stood out among thousands of applicants to be earn a $10,000 grant from Canada Life.

It’s been a year since the COVID-19pandemic began, and many small businesses are struggling to keep afloat. In an effort to help, Canada Life launched its Business Boost program to  give financial support to 12 recipients across the country. The company accepted applications over a two-week period, and nearly 4,000 businesses applied for a one-time grant of $10,000.

In Winnipeg, San Vito Coffee House (2293 Portage Ave.) was named a recipient, as well as Kings Park Child Care Centre in Fort Richmond.

Jeff Macoun, president and chief operating officer of Canada Life, said they selected Business Boost recipients to acknowledge the continued determination and resilience of different kinds of businesses across Canada.

“San Vito Coffee House stood out to us for a few reasons. Firstly, they’re a long-standing small business and are well-known in the community. They’ve done a tremendous job adapting and pivoting their business during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Macoun said.

“For instance, they quickly implemented free city-wide delivery and shared some really fun Kitchen Karaoke videos on social media to lift peoples’ spirits during this tough time. These are a few examples of what caught our eye.”

At the same time, Canada Life recognizes that it’s been a day-to-day struggle for businesses to keep their doors open.  

“Small businesses are at the heart of the communities we call home,” Macoun said.

“As an organization committed to the well-being of Canadians, we want to help them get back on their feet.”

Geordie Wilson, owner of San Vito Coffee House, heard about the grant program from a regular customer. When he applied, he never imagined that his restaurant would be chosen.

“I was stunned. The money is super-helpful, but the acknowledgement is almost more meaningful,” he said.

“It was very humbling and I’m super-appreciative they chose us when they could’ve chosen numerous other companies that are working just as hard as we are. It’s very flattering and we’re very thankful for it.”

When the pandemic hit, Wilson opted to offer city-wide free delivery rather than relying on a third-party service, which would take a large percentage of the total bill. He delivered flyers door to door in the spring and again in the fall, receiving a positive response.

About a year ago, he also launched Kitchen Karaoke, changing the words to popular songs to promote San Vito and its products.

“We were trying to bring a little bit of levity and people liked it. All of a sudden, we were putting out two to three songs a week. We’ve actually put out over 100 songs that we’ve rearranged to talk about our food and our store — everything from hip hop to Bruno Mars to Kenny Chesney to AC/DC and everything in between,” Wilson said.

“I’m a terrible singer, so people weren’t tuning in for my vocal cords. If nothing else, people laughed.”
In addition, San Vito launched Manitoba Magic on Thursdays, awarding people free meals if they correctly answered Manitoba trivia questions.

“We’ve had to reinvent ourselves and we’ve done a lot of things. Like everybody, we’re trying to keep going. Our attitude was that we’re not going to let this thing beat us,” he said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to survive this thing. Whatever we’ve had to do to keep the lights on and keep going, we’ve done. I’m proud of our team. everyone has been going above and beyond.”

With the Business Boost grant, Wilson used a portion of the funds to buy a new sandwich refrigeration unit after the restaurant’s previous equipment stopped working about three months ago. The rest of the funds will help the business to keep moving forward.

“We have no idea when this is going to be over, but we’ve got to keep going. The positive thing is that we’ve gained new customers. The one good thing that’s come out of COVID is the whole shop-local piece, which I think has been helpful to us and other retailers and restaurateurs,” he said.

“What makes a character of a city are the independent operators. It’s important that we take care of our brothers and sisters.”