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Squamish businesses off to a busy summer season

Downtown’s Friday Nights event growing in popularity, says organizer
Rebecca Aldous/Squamish Chief
Rayne Bryson gets busy making a yummy burrito while her co-worker Keith Adams looks on at Casa Norte on Friday, July 11.

 

They hoped to make it to 8:30 p.m. In the end, they only held out until 8 p.m.

“It was the busiest all-round day we’ve had,” said Vance Shaw, the owner of the Mexican restaurant Casa Norte. “We are used to bursts, but Canada Day was steady. That was something that hadn’t really happened at that level yet.”

A half an hour before the scheduled close, the downtown restaurant had run out of food. It’s a trend Shaw hopes to see more of as this summer shapes up to be a busy season. 

“We are definitely starting to get more and more people coming off the highway,” he said.

That’s exactly what the Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association (BIA) is hoping will happen. Besides Squamish’s packed summer schedule, with festival after festival rolling through town, the organization has partnered with the District of Squamish to animate the town’s core every Friday night until August 29. 

The Friday Nights event includes additional food vendors and entertainment – everything from buskers to performers. It runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and gives residents a place to hang out, the BIA’s executive director Christine Campbell said. Starting on Friday (July 18), Cleveland Street will be pedestrian-only from Winnipeg to Victoria streets. 

“We do have a bit of a night market and once the street is closed we will have a bit more [vendors],” Campbell said. 

Friday Nights and the weekends are increasingly busy, said Cathie Cartwright, the co-owner of The Hive Home and Gift store. 

“Word is getting out,” she said. “It is definitely a busier summer for sure.”

Cartwright suspects the Sea to Sky Gondola has a lot to do with that. More tourists seem to be popping into Squamish’s heart, she said. The Squamish Adventure Centre and the BIA are also doing a good job of cross promoting businesses and events, Cartwright said. 

It’s nice to see the community attempting to beef up Squamish’s nightlife, she noted, adding she hopes the night market aspect of Friday Nights event will expand. 

“Squamish is just aching for stuff like that,” she said. 

Shaw agreed that downtown Squamish is seeing more out-of-town visitors. It’s becoming more than just a coffee stop, he said. Shaw has regular costumers who visit his restaurant when travelling to Whistler. 

Approximately 200 people filed through his Casa Norte on Canada Day. With the nice weather and longer days, Shaw hopes to see more faces in downtown’s heart in the days to come. 

“Squamish’s downtown has so much potential.”

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