north shore news NEWS photo Julle Iverson MERCY Young parts the rack of throw rugs at Sonata to reveal a seiection of rat- tan, wicker and bamboo furniture and accessories. The store opened in January. Com COMMERCIAL Avenues is a bi-monthly feature of the North Shore News? business section. While it is by no means a com- prebensive guide to any of the areas it focuses on, it seeks to cap- ture a snapshot of the day-to-day life of businesses selected at ran- dom that call the street home. If you have a business that is part of a unique or otherwise worth- while block, or know of any, please share it with us. Write to . Commercial Avenues, c/o Bab Mackin, North Shore. News, 1139. Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver V7M. 244. E-mail Lonsdale & E. 3rd Bob Mackin News Reporter DURABILITY and comfort are two reasons why. wicker, rattan and bamboo furniture are ideal for summer, says Mercy Young. Young opened Sonata Rattan Special and Giftware back in January. The native of Taiwan sells a variety of furni- ture and accessories made from natural materials in her store. She admits such furniture needs to be broken-in like a good pair of shoes. “The ionger you use it, the more smooth you feel the stuff is,” Young says. “When you get it new, it’s rough. In time it gets more smooth.” After a dismal June, Young is looking forward to better sales. “The furniture here is for the patio sunroom, even good for the bathroom. Because the wicker lasts longer than plastic, some people have a rocking chair more than 20 years.” | Young said she started the business in North Vancouver three years after coming to Canada because there were few stores that sell similar items on Ave: the North Shore. “The people in North Vancouver have to go to Richmond or downtown to find this stuff, so probably it’s a oad idea to -have this store ere. Because it’s a new store, I want people to come in and feel comforzable.” Collecting customers Comics Scene manager Francois Wan has seen col- lectibles come and go over his 12 years in Lower Lonsdale. But the desire to collect has never changed. Wan, who has been in the same location for three years, is benefitting from the recent release of Star Wars’ prequel - merchandise and he’s happily recling from the Japanese Pokemon, craze. The yellow “pocket monster” and reijated products are a hit with the kids on both sides of the Pacific — so much that Wan is struggling to keep Pokemon stock on shelves. “Too much demand, not cnough supply,” he says with a smile. Many of Wan’s customers were big fans of Star Wars’ original trilogy in the late 70s and early 80s. Now a whole - new audience has discovered NEWS phote Julle iverson KEN Fok’s Lonsdale Dollar Store may be sraali but it’s overflowing with variety. He even has inflatable chairs. And, in case you wondered, many of the items cost only one dollar. Ne ae Poe te ee a a ek Se an TD i & BUSINESS NEWS photo Julie FRANCOIS Wan has operated Comics Scene in Lower Lonsdaie for 12 years, including three at its present location. Action figures, video games and col- lectible cards are popular items, but the business was built en comic baoks. George Lucas’ series, guaran- teeing Wan a new genefation of Customers. fl fantasy role-playing games, like Magic The Gathering, Xena action figures and non- sport trading cards keep other segments of his customer base content. He also has a loyal clientele fascinated by Japanese anime animation. For the high-end collector, there are Golden Age comic books from the 1940s and 1950s worth more than $500. “There’s a little bit of everything for everybody,” Wan says. “It’s all fun.” Bueking trends Small is beautiful for Ken . Fok. His Lonsdale Dollar Shop has small prices on ifs tags. The store itself is. small but it’s packed with a myriad of items. * Greeting cards, toys, hard- ware tools... you name it, Fok’s got it. There’s even an inflatable chair, which he - sometimes ” ses. “It’s strong enough for adults, but it’s especially for teenagers,” Fok says. Though he doesn’t have the quantity of a department store’s inventory, he might just Purpie e ce Boe che ‘corner on East 3rd _ is Cesar Nicolas’ Fiesta Canadian market. ‘ From the cosy shop, Nicolas is perhaps the North - Shore’s foremost purveyor of > groceries straight from the ~ Phillipines. "Nicolas stocks packaged oods from his homeland and fresh, locally made delicacies. He even has a selection of Filipino videos. Nicolas came to Canada from Qatar 2 year ago. He’s a native of the Philippines’ Central Luzon region. © This time of year, of course, ice cream is a big seller. “We have lots of: ice cream,” he says, pointing to the freezer where mango is one ofthe most popular have the variety on a micro - scale. : toe “Most of thie’ stuff is close to a dollar, some is a little bit. higher or lower than a dollar. Some stationery is two for $1, some of the stuff is two for $1.50.” ! ‘Fok, who ran a drug store in Hong Kong, opened the store a year ago. flavours. Nicolas actively. promotes’ the weekly shipments of gulay vegetables from south- east Asia. Perhaps the most eye-catching items in-store are the stacks of purple eggs. No, they don’t come from purple chickens. es “They call it salted eggs,” he says. “They put the colour. to differentiate berween a:. regular egg and a salted egz.' You can eat it as a snack.or put. it. in bread. In the* Phillipines they. mix it with. tomato. It’s very tasty.” Others on .the ‘block: Chartreuse, Quizno’s, Forex. - Super . Palengke . grocery, Little Soup House and Deli, . and .. RCMP Community. . Policing Office. - ao CESAR Nicolas stocks the shelves ai his Fiesta Canadian store with grocery merchandise imported. from the Phitiieines. i , ro as Bm eh a a ce an ca ep nage eS aot Oo cman eS ce tny ner aime ne welt tel ee taabaaN ae et apiinaelcart eee aaht ap ome