NEWS photos Terry Peters AMBLESIDE Village Square is tucked away into a courtyard bounded by 14th and 15th Streets as well as Clyde Avenue and Marine Drive in West Vancouver. ‘Svare is round the corner «ahi Galster ‘News Reporter robert@nsnews,com . NEITHER a square nor a village, Ambleside _ Village Square is located in, well, Ambleside. ‘Tucked into a multi-level courtyard between. 14th and 15th Avenues, it can be accessed from either Marine> Drive ‘or: _ Clyde Avenue but « } visibility is\ not its: strong suit. 7 Its merchants ! are, 32: -year-old: | Jody Claman is the: ~ ‘dynamo’ behind Jody's Fine. Foods a _and : Catering, : a ‘small. ‘and " packed-to-the-raftersstore- frone that. also. caters to. the « ordinary, But. there’s ‘nothing - , ordinary-al ‘ ‘is prepared claims. oe ie she “uses the’ personali illustrate who s everyone. “A lot of pedplé think we only cater to the wealthy but - it’s not true, whether it’s $10 a person or $250 a person.” Her list of clients “is ‘an ° “impressive collection of recog- «nizable.names including Martin ° Sheen, Glenn “Close“and Stu ~ Jackson in addition to names of. ‘everyday folks whose: names don'’tring a bell. Claman started the business more than six years ago and has ~ finally outgrown the location. t-her,food, which iphrase’ to. =. became -styling,: Kayee decided to learn -his ‘craft from the best and She’it be moving shortly, but not far. In fact the move will set off a string of occurrences that will see her take over a larger space on Clyde Avenue current- ly occupied by Mr. Moon's Bookstore which will in’ turn move to a storefront on Marine Drive in the same block. No word yet on her replacement in the square. Hair tales A skip and 2 hop into the square from Jody’s will bring visitors to the Shear West Hair Design studio where Braden Kayee set a up shop 13 years * ago. The 43-ycar- old stylist. moon- an lights as an actor “in the flourishing local film . scene and has had recent stints on shows fike the X- Files and Viper. Life tends to feature many strange and unexpected turns and twists and ‘Kayce. is no exception. As he puts it, “I never in’ my : fife » thought I'd be (a hair stylist. Never, ever, ever.” ‘Of course the Winnipeg native never thought he’d end up-in B.C. cither. After he interested in hair decided to drive to Los Angeles to take classes at Vidal Sassoon’s facility. But that wasn’t meant to be as Kayce. was jarred into under- standing. En route, a friend accompanying him crashed Kayce’s car in Abbotsford. He. ended up: never ieaving the Lower Mainland, never mind making it to LA. “The car was a write-off and 1 stayed here for several weeks and loved it,” recalled Kayce. Since then the only thing that’s changed is Kayce’s inter- est in aromatherapy which led him to set aside a portion of his salon to provide his clients with face and body treatments using essential oils. Fish and chips —- hold the bread The village square is a long way from Munich, but Hilda Brawley managed to bring a lit- ue piece of her hometown with her. She took over a fish and chips outfit that previously occupied the space nine years ago, but encountered one small problem. She had no idea how to make fish and chips. .. “They asked me for fish and chips but I cannot make it because I am Bavarian not English,” said Brawley. She decided to make the best of the situation and started offering fish burgers to ber clientele. That effort met with limited success as several patrons started to ask for the fish por- tion without the bread. So she applied the considerable skills of a cook fluent in Bavarian cuisine and started preparing her own brand of fish and chips. “I make it like a schnitzel,” said Brawley. “And vou don't have to look for the fish. It’s all there. There’s more fish than batter.” Judging by her longevity the patrons are happy with the cre- ation, The only downside to Brawley’s success is her lack of free ime. “I'm single,” said Brawley with a mere hint of despair. “There's just no time with work.” Pet pampering Dogspa has been around tor 35 years, grooming, cleaning and just plain pampering the canine and cat populations of West Vancouver, Judy Scott has owned it for the fast seven and is a self-proclaimed dog Sover. In fact so is her whole family, with daughter Jennifer assisting in the shop and another relative operating a kennel. “We're all dog people,” she prociaimed. Featuring an open design, a ‘pet owner can watch his best friend undergo whatever treat- ment is called for. Eve. contact can, after all, make for a smoother session — for both dog and owner. All the rest... Other merchants in the square are (in no particular order) Rae’s Discount Store, Colors of Europe, Ariston Greek Restaurant, Marcell's Shoe Renew, Square Rigger Pub, Luk’s Tailor, Fair in the Square, Quill Printing, The Downstairs Gallery, —_ Luis Carrazon Goldsmiths, L’Arte Del Gelato and Bay City Insurance. If you have a business that is part of a snigque or otherwise worthwhile block, or know of any, let us know. Write to Robert Galster at the North: Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver, V7M 2H4 or e-mail: robert@nsnews.com B Providing | trusted Wealth: p lanning Advi ~Phosie Retirement Planning Handbook Estate Planning Handhook Tax Handbook for Investors ; Drafting your will Handbook Protecting 3 your Wealth through Insurance Handbook | . your ciomph meytar Y hit ihich inche Wednesday, April 15, 1998 — North Shore News — 48 JODY'S joy ... Jody Claman of Jody’s Fine Foods and Catering specializes in preparing good food for all people. HAIL Hilda ... Hilda Brawley has been version of fish and chips for the past ‘nine years. ; DOG lovers ... Dogspa owner. Judy, Scott (right) is joined by (left to right) daughter Jennifer: and_ Chery! Lundrigan. | Building Relationships for Life. . Phone for your free Wealth Planning Kit at 913-7000 ~ 1555 Marine Drive 3rd Floor, West Vancouver This advertisement is sponsored and paid for in part by Spectrum AIM Mutual Funds