Little Italy Pizzeria celebrates 20 years

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2014 (4208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As I was writing my column this week, I was thinking about how much dough a pizza place would go through in a day, a month or even a year. Then I started to think, after 20 years of being in the business of selling pizza, exactly how much dough would you use? My guess is … lots, but I should have asked Martin Dupuis because that’s exactly how long he has been the proud owner of Little Italy Pizzeria at 305 10th St.

Little Italy Pizzeria is a pickup or delivery business that started on Rosser Avenue until it moved in 2004 to 10th Street. They offer a wide variety of pizza and pasta dishes, along with sub sandwiches, salads and wings.

Dupuis said he’s proud to be celebrating his 20th anniversary.

“I’m lucky to have been in business for this long. You see a lot of places come and go. I can’t tell you how many restaurants have opened and closed across the street. It’s always a reminder of how quickly things can go south,” Dupuis said.

Little Italy has 12 employees on the payroll. They open at 3 p.m. and deliver until 3 a.m. With crazy hours and an always-growing long list of things to do for the business, Dupuis is grateful that he has always managed to find just the right people to be part of his business.

“We employ some really great people and that’s a huge part of our success. If you don’t hire the right people, that can cause more damage to your business than any number of competitors opening right next door to you,” Dupuis said.

While Dupuis also credits his parents, his wife and family in general for helping him grow the business over the years, it hasn’t always been easy.

“Most people don’t understand the commitment a small business owner makes. To make sure everybody gets paid and everything is taken care of; there’s no clock on it. A 20-hour day is not unheard of, it happens more often than most people can imagine,” Dupuis said.

Congratulations on a great 20 years! For more information, call 204-727-7777 or visit littleitalypizzeria.net.

A window of opportunities

Budget Blinds owners Sue and Gord Swarbrick have been putting the finishing touches on their new location since they moved in July and now they’re ready to show off their spacious showroom at 381 Park Ave. East.

To commemorate this exciting move, they are having a grand opening celebration today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an official ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. by Mayor Rick Chrest. They will be serving cake and refreshments, plus there will be a chance to win prizes.

Budget Blinds offers full service custom window coverings — blinds, shades, shutters, draperies, window film and Tableaux Faux Iron. Plus, they have a rolling showroom that they’ll bring anywhere in the Westman region.

“We’re best known for our service, our warranties and our willingness to go to all corners of our territory. Our customers are just thrilled that we’ll come to their home for even just one window,” Sue Swarbrick said.

Having won a 2013 rookie of the year award from Budget Blinds Corporate, the Swarbricks are proud of business they’ve established in the last three years.

“We love what we do here and it shows. We’ve built many solid relationships, we treat people really well and we’ve been successful. We are just extremely grateful for our customers,” Swarbrick said.

The new showroom features shutters, motorized window coverings, drapery, an upholstery workstation, a showcase wall and an outdoor living area. Budget Blinds offers free in-home consultations and professional installation.

For more information, call 204-727-4766 or visit budgetblinds.ca.

Black Friday

Well, Black Friday has come and gone for another year, and according to one report, it’s now the biggest shopping day of the year in Canada. If you’re a consumer who stayed home to support local businesses — way to go!

Now, let’s continue the trend throughout the Christmas shopping season and support our local businesses.

Over the past eight months, I have written about so many wonderful businesses that have amazing products and services to offer. I doubt I need to review the countless number of reasons it is so important to support them and our community.

The message is really quite simple — shop local!