north shore news

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BUSINESS

Wednesday. February 3. 1999 — North Shore News - 15

Age hasn't tarnished tin man’ $s mettle

c OMMERC VAL Avenues is a dae
fy feature of the Nurth Shore
News hast sewecetion, While ints bv no

wivaus a comprehensive smide to any of

the arens it Jucuses on, it seeks to cape

tare a snapsit of the day-to-day life of

bustuesss selected at randon that call
the street bune. Uf you know a business
thar is part of a wortinhile block.
share trowith us. Write to Commercial
Avenues co Ratert Galster at tin
Narth Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale
Ave. North Vancouver, VOM 2H or
email at crabertusnews.cum.

Robert Galster

News Reporter
vobert@nusnews.com

THE Tin Shop has been a
part of the North Shore busi-
ness scene since time
immemorial.

fits owner Ray ‘Phomas, though
perhaps nor as sprv as he once was, can
scill turn out a specialized tin fitting to
connect a heater to its home ina tlash.
He started out in a shop on Lonsdale
Avenue but an infrastructure project
forced him te relocate to his present
Main Street location 13 vears ago,

“They wanted to dig a hole under
Lonsdale (Avenue) and 1 was on the
edge of the hole,” recalled Thomas.

He said he got the idea to get into
the tin fitting business from his father
who was a plumber.

“They're not the same trade bur

thew’re all done in che same kind of

places,” said Thomas.

He has slowed down somewhat
from his earlier days when he used to
make house calls around the North
Shore, bur still single-handedly keeps
the business going.

“L stopped doing that (house calls)
some time ago ... now | just sit here
and look out the window — rain or
shine and stay in the back and pet
some work done,” said Thomas.

Travel bugged

Stepping Stone Travel has occu-
pied its present location
for 20 years. Its office
manager Jose Avila
knows the travel busi-
ness inside out. And it’s
not nard to sce he enjoys
it.

“The clients, the
trips, the tours,” said
Avila listing off the perks
of the job.

“Yeah, I have to travel in this
business,” he added with a smile.

Avila is not new to the concept
of travel. Two years ago he decided
to take a-permanent trip and left his
native Columbia for good, setling in
Canada. The climate change has not
gone unnoticed.

“Te’s a little cold, but it’s not like
the east,” said Avila.

Ars as cre

JOSE Avila (above) takes to hi
el agency manager by travelli

NEWS photos Paul McGrath

'S job as the Stepping Stone trav-
ng as much as possible. Nearby

Koko’s Gourmet Pet Food owner Terumi Stromotich (top right)
and son Christopher cater to the discriminating pet owners, At
right, Seymour Tackle's Bob Fuller is busy with his third store.

And it’s not like it’s cold forever
cither. His next trip will see him head
for Mexico,

Fish for life

Bob Fuller just can’t get out of the

tackle business. He started with

Highwater Tackle in

Lower Lonsdale and sold

the business which contin:

ues on to this day. Faller

went on to open Castaway

Tackle on Main Street and

ran it for 10 years before

selling that too. The buver

didn’t fare too well and the business
ended up going broke.

Fuller then decided to return to

the location but had to use a new
business name to avoid taking up the
debts of the failed predecessor. And
thus Seymour Tackle was born.

As Fuller can attest, running a
business is time-consuming at the very
least and exhausting in some instances.

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Either scenario leaves very little time
for, well, fishing.

“Now, that [ have the store, [don’t
getout at all,” said Fuller. “1 shouldn't
say that. I do when the coho season
starts (in June). But Pm trying to run
a one-man operation.”

He has another beef, and untortu-
nately for him there isn’t a whole lot
he can do about it.

“The fishing is still there but the
restrictions the government has put on
the sports fisherman are just terrible,”
he grumbled.

A dog’s life

Koko’s Gourmet Pet Food owner
Terumi Stromotich got the idea to
start the specialty pet tood business
from watching her family.

“My grandparents and then my
parents have always cooked for our
pets,” she said. “You'd be surprised at

See Cooking page 17

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