John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!

This has been a smoldering rumour for months and finally we have the rumour confirmed; there is going to be a new super “Keg” restaurant in Kelowna as part of their expanding plans with ten new locations this year. I think there is now 110 “Kegs” across the country and down into the United States.

The new location is a perfect one for the excellent steak and seafood chain. They will be located on the corner of the property where Superstore does its business and across the street from where Skogie's new location is.

We have been in one of the new stores that The Keg is building at the moment. This was in Toronto and it was terrific. Well appointed and the food was what we always expect at The Keg. Our old neighbours from Toronto took us out to the new place in town, never thinking that we have those restaurants here in the West where it all started.

What a great spot for this classy eatery. In all the years I have been eating out you could always count on The Keg for good food. As far as I know they will begin construction on the new building in October.

The chain was founded in 1971 in North Vancouver by George Tidball. It was originally called The Keg and Cleaver. The Keg and Cleaver revolutionized steak house dining when they captured the steak and seafood lovers to stop by and they became loyal customers to this day.

David Aisenstat is the president and CEO of Keg Restaurants which he bought from British brewer Whitbread who had purchased the food chain from Tidball.

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The show I won’t ever miss is “The One Hit Wonders“. Rann Berry and his big show band are bringing their new edition to the Kelowna Community Theatre Saturday, August 10th. There is lots of new music and I can’t wait to hear their version of “MacArthur Park".  The song is seven minutes long and they tell me it is an exciting look back. There is many changes as the producer Berry tweaks the show every year. The musicians are the best and Rann Berry likes singing the songs from the 60s and 70s. Tickets are available from Select Your Tickets or by phone at 250-762-5050.

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If you get migraines like I do from low pressure weather then I may have found an aid you should be talking to you doctor about. The pills I was shown were called Frova and they work differently than the normal relief cure that are sold to us across the counter in our pharmacies. This works on the blood rather than on the headache itself. My doctor has the same migraine problems that I do and he told me he had tried them and they work. This is not something you should try on your own without assistance from your doctor. It is a prescription pill and must not be used for more than ten days.

Remember that day of rain two weeks ago? The doctor said he woke up with a migraine and after two pills over the morning and it was gone.

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Shoppers are going to love this rumour - we’re going to be getting a Marshalls Store in Kelowna. The Canadian Marshalls have made a commitment to the area. This chain of excellent off-price stores is owned by the TJX companies who also own TJ Maxx, Winners and HomeSense in Canada. Winners were purchased years ago when they only had five stores in Toronto. That chain has grown to over three hundred stores in this country.

Marshalls is the store I have always liked to shop in San Diego when we went there every year and have had some good luck over years with my choices.

The location will be a new building on the south west corner of the property where Superstore has their store and gas bar.

Marshalls moved into Canada with their first stores in the Toronto area and their first twelve stores were built in that part of Ontario.

Good shopping news for you folks.

The Kelowna store is expected to open next year. Marshalls already have stores in Vancouver and Abbottsford in B.C. and one in Winnipeg, Man. Everything else so far is in the East.

The chain was started in 1956 by the Marshall family and was called “Brand Names For Less.” It is a brand new concept in retailing that’s for sure.  Before TJX purchased the chain it was owned for a time by CVS, the huge pharmacy retailers.

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Twinkies are back on the shelves after a big revamp of the bakery by the new owners who bought the company Hostess out of bankruptcy. I don’t know whether they have been off the shelves in Canada because Saputo Bakery, a division of the Saputo Cheese giant, owned the rights to Canada. This bakery has made the Jos Louis cakes in competition with the Twinkies sponge cakes.

Twinkies are not programmed to come back to the Canadian market in the near future. So that means Canadian cross the border shoppers will have to keep them on their shopping lists for awhile.

Saputo, based in Montreal distributed the product for a number of years here in Canada.

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Burrard International Holdings Inc., Caleb Chan’s company that owns GolfBC, has purchased the land that the Okanagan Golf Club has leased for fifteen years. The Quail and The Bear courses are built on the land. I think the GolfBC group have been trying to buy that land for years. Doug McNaughton and his company Pier Mac owned a lot of land out there across from the airport.

GolfBC has been a golf and resort management company since 1989. The company operates eight championship golf courses in B.C. including Nicklaus North (Whistler), Furry Creek (near Lions Bay), Gallagher’s Canyon (Kelowna), Okanagan Golf (Kelowna), Mayfair Lakes (Richmond), Arbutus Ridge (Cobble Hill, nine hole facility), The Pinnacle (at Gallagher’s Canyon) and also the Gold, Emerald and Old Blue courses at Wailea Golf Club in Maui, Hawaii.