There were four tables when Mansons Friday Market reopened, on May 29th. Last week there were seventeen. They spilled outside the hall and throughout much of the parking lot. There were a lot of new faces: some covered by masks, but mostly not. This was only one of many examples of Cortes Island slowly reopening.
Continue reading Cortes Island Slowly ReopeningTag Archives: Eric Hargrave
Cortes Island Stores Granted Assured Loading
For Curt Cunningham, of the Squirrel Cove General Store, it means not having to leave at 5 AM to ensure he can board the first ferry leaving Cortes Island on Monday mornings. He can stay in bed for another two hours. Cunningham will no longer worry about the consequences of being forced to wait for another sailing on the trip home. (Three loads of ice cream melted in the ferry parking lot last year.) There will be no more nights when he is forced to sleep on Quadra, or Campbell River, because there was no room for his truck on the last ferry. He will not have to ask an employee to open the store in the morning. BC Ferries granted assured loading to Cortes Island’s commercial food trucks.
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Cortes Island’s Food Sector Resuming Services
The Floathouse Restaurant started serving customers at tables a few days ago. While this has changed, people can still sit at tables. The Co-op Cafe has reopened for take-out, albeit only on Wednesdays and Fridays. Squirrel Cove’s Flying Squirrel could start up within a month. Cortes Island’s food sector is slowly resuming services.
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Grocery Stores Provide Essentials For Cortes & Quadra
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Bertha Jeffery, owner of the Cortes Market grocery store, is unequivocal about how critical her staff is in serving the store’s small island community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Pandemic’s Impacts On Frontline Workers – The Stores
Originally Published on Cortes Radio.ca. This radio broadcast was funded by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and the Government of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative.
In this episode, we get a deep dive from Eric Hargrave, manager at the Cortes Natural Food Cooperative, and Bill Dougan, manager at the Gorge Harbour Marina Resort General Store. These are two fellows who run grocery stores and have given a lot of thought to the modern food chain. They present their insights with wit and charm. Together we explored the impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on their lives and their businesses. I was especially curious about the pandemics impacts on frontline workers — those working the tills and stocking shelves.
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