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Business briefs: Elephant and Castle to open in Delta hotel

In Whistler we've got Aussie, we've got Kiwi, we've got Japanese and French. What's missing in this equation is a bit of a British flavour. Fret no more, as the Elephant and Castle looks to bring that to Whistler's dining experience.

In Whistler we've got Aussie, we've got Kiwi, we've got Japanese and French. What's missing in this equation is a bit of a British flavour.

Fret no more, as the Elephant and Castle looks to bring that to Whistler's dining experience.

The E&C, already with a location in the Delta Vancouver Airport hotel, is set to open this week at the Delta Whistler Village Suites, in the former Milestone's location.

"The holiday ski season is pretty big in Whistler and we're hoping to capitalize on that market a little bit," said Greg Crawford, corporate marketing manager for the Elephant and Castle.

The chain is currently working on a partial renovation to open in Whistler as soon as possible. Once open, it hopes to offer an intimate atmosphere with food such as its famous Fish 'n' Chips, a large draught beer selection and British Classics such as the roast beef-stuffed Yorkshire pudding and Guinness meatloaf.

The Elephant and Castle opened its first North American location in Vancouver in 1977 and has since grown to more than 20 restaurants throughout Canada and the United States, according to a news release. It's owned by Terra Nova Pub Group, which also owns the Piccadilly Pub restaurant and the Exchange Pub and Restaurant.

Crawford said in an interview that the Whistler location is one of the quickest openings it's ever had.

"It's a place we've been trying to get into for a long time, we've just never been given that opportunity," he said. "It's just a market that we thought would be a great place for an Elephant and Castle.

"We have a warm, inviting atmosphere, it would be a great place to start the day with breakfast, head in for lunch and dinner, snuggle up to get warm after being on the ski hill all day."

 

The video industry lives on in Pemberton

When one video store taketh, another giveth back in Pemberton.

The Movie Gallery on Portage Road has closed, effectively ending the company's dynasty between Whistler and Pemberton. But that hasn't stopped an upstart little operation from satisfying Pemberton's cinephilic needs.

Pemberflix, located between the Esso Station and Spud Valley Sporting Goods, is there to fill the gap. The brainchild of owner Jesse Demers, Pemberflix is currently in its early stages but employees have big plans to serve Pemberton's dire need for videos. As it stands the store's signs have been written on blister boards and the shelves are only beginning to fill up with DVDs, but that is likely to change as the store evolves.

"There was a void in Pemberton and someone needed to fill it," said Kim Bayless, manager at Pemberflix.

Bayless, a veteran clerk of many a video store, was plucked out of her job at Rogers Video in Whistler after working there for four years. Before that she worked at Movie Gallery for two.

"The owner, it's his dream," she said in an interview. "He asked me to come in, I mentioned I'd be interested in coming to run it, and I said, 'Well, yeah!'"

Demers has covered all the financial work leading up to the store's opening but Bayless runs the store's day to day operations. Hailing from the town of Rocanville, Saskatchewan, population 887 and home to the world's largest oil can, she's worked in a corporate environment for a long time and wants to bring a down home quality to Pemberton's newest video store.

"We are looking for a very big neighbourhood store kind of feel," Bayless said. "Having worked in corporate environments for quite some time, I'm looking for something more relaxed and nicer."

As it stands, Pemberflix has about 500 titles, according to Bayless, but that will grow as movies come out on DVD week after week. Thus far Harry Potter and Star Trek have proven the most popular titles.