Take another look at Oak

CYNTHIA RAMSAY

In addition to being situated along or near Oak Street and supporting the Jewish Independent, the businesses featured in this issue’s special Neighborhoods section have another trait in common: longevity. They have all been operating for many years, managing to survive economic ups and downs by maintaining their customer base, no doubt by providing quality goods and services.

While Marty Charach has owned Broadway Jewelers (broadwayjewellers.ca, 604-732-8118) since 1985, his family’s experience with the industry goes back to the 1920s when, Charach told the Independent, his grandfather established Shore’s Jewelers. Marpole Jewelers was started by his mother and father, Evelyn and Norman, in the 1960s and Treasure Island Jewelers was established that same decade by his grandmother, Sophie Shore, and her son, Harold Shore, who were later joined by his wife, Marlene. Harold and Marlene Shore went on to start the jewelry department at the West Broadway London Drugs.

When I wandered into Broadway Jewelers, there was a young couple in the store, and several other customers followed in the space of minutes. Charach and his mother, now 83, provided personal service to each. The store carries a wide selection of diamond, gold, silver and pearl jewelry, as well as precious and semi-precious gems and watches, at competitive prices. They also can use existing gold and gems to create any beautiful new design, said Charach.

At the corner of Broadway and Oak is Simmons Mattress Gallery (simmonsmattressgallery.ca, 604-733-0166), which has been selected Consumer’s Choice for best mattress store in British Columbia for eight years in a row.

Owner Neil Wurst believes, “A mattress is the most important piece of furniture you will every buy. It is the only piece of furniture that affects the wellness of your life. You spend one-third of your life sleeping. Buying the proper mattress is an investment in your health.”

For more than 130 years, Simmons has been selling mattresses. Its Beautyrest brand is made so that it contours to the sleeper’s shape and weight, minimizing movement and preventing roll, offering spine and body support that contributes to a better rest.

Wurst himself has been in the mattress industry for more than 25 years. Noting that his stores in Vancouver and Coquitlam offer the largest selection of Simmons products anywhere in Canada, he pointed out, “A good queen-size mattress costs approximately $1,000 and will last you more than a decade. That works out to only $100 each year for your sleep.”

Simmons boasts that it has a friendly and knowledgeable staff, and for that I can vouch, at least at the Oak and Broadway location, as that’s where I bought my queen-sized bed several years ago (which remains comfortable to this day).

Also very friendly and customer-driven are Kenn and Majy Burns, who own EmbroidMe Vancouver at the corner of 15th Avenue (embroidme-vancouverfc.com, howtogetnoticed.ca, 604-742-1389). Kenn Burns told the Independent that they “love working with clients who are dedicated to what they do, be it growing their business, having fun with their team or serving their community.”

Since expanding into full-service embroidery, screen printing and promotional products by joining a franchise network and becoming EmbroidMe Vancouver in 2006, explained Burns, “they have helped everyone, from small business owners needing just a couple of embroidered shirts, to King David High School with their fantastic special-event T-shirts, to companies like Future Shop, when they needed 80,000 embroidered baseball caps to give away with their gaming consoles.”

Burns got his start back in 1998, when his sister-in-law helped him arrange some custom jerseys for the soccer team he was managing.

“We maintained a relationship with the manufacturer, even visiting them on a vacation a year later, and word got around that we were supplying great jerseys and great prices,” said Burns. “From there, we developed a side business based on uniforms, while still working the ‘day jobs,’ and soon it became clear that we really loved the business and we started looking at ways to turn it into our full-time means, and that’s how we started EmbroidMe Vancouver.”

Burns gave a concrete example of what he and Majy value about their business.

“One of my favorite customers in our first year was a woman with a startup company providing cellphone software for banking,” he shared. “She knew exactly what she wanted for a trade show she was attending: a stress ball-desktop cellphone holder shaped like a globe and printed with her logo. I thought, silently of course, that she was a bit crazy, but I checked with my suppliers and other EmbroidMe owners around the world and, within 48 hours, the order was placed. She was so excited when they arrived and told me later they were a big hit with her clients. That’s what we love about what we do.”

Burns said that helping people make their purchase decisions “is a big part of the service we provide. There are thousands and thousands of options out there, and we know that sometimes just hearing about what we have seen before, or giving feedback on the quality of products from a particular supplier goes a long way in helping our clients make educated decisions.”

Across the street from EmbroidMe is Max’s Delicatessen & Bakery (maxsdeli.ca, 604-733-4838). The restaurant was founded by Max Prosterman in 1949, then run by Prosterman’s friend, Dave Shafran and then Shafran’s son, Zevie, who moved Max’s to its current location. Bruce Redpath acquired Max’s in 1981, and continues to operate it to this day. (He also owns Stuart’s Bakery.)

“While originally a strictly kosher Jewish deli, Max’s has grown to be more than just a deli,” explained Shannon Gavin of Redpath Foods to the Independent. “Our primary focus is creating natural, home-style cooked meals in a fast-food world. Everything we serve is made from scratch on our premises. Enjoy artisan breads, healthy and nutritious entrées, sides, salads and soups, made-to-order sandwiches and luscious desserts.

“Stop in every Friday to pick up a loaf of challah, fresh latkes and chopped liver,” Gavin added.

Max’s provides daily dinner specials, eat-in or take-out, as well as catering services and online ordering. It has been named “Vancouver’s best deli” on several occasions and the Independent ranked its cheesecakes as among the best in town in a taste comparison it held a few years ago, and Max’s is one of the 35 locations at which the Independent can be picked up every week.

Travelling south down Oak leads to Marks Pharmacy (markspharmacy.ca, 604-731-8535) at 22nd. The pharmacy offers natural health remedies, both in-store and online. According to its website, it “specializes in treating muscle soreness, joint pain and inflammation from both chronic and acute conditions. As a full-service compounding pharmacy, Marks Pharmacy prepares bio-identical hormone creams and acne treatments. Other natural health remedies ... successfully treat psoriasis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, MS [multiple sclerosis] and other potentially debilitating diseases.”

Licensed pharmacist Marvin Nider and his team of natural health experts have provided holistic solutions, supplement regimens and herbal remedies since 1986. Nider’s son, Jeff, manages the pharmacy, which “was founded on the principle of serving the Vancouver community with care and concern for their total health and well-being,” and it contributes to this not only through consultations with clients, but also with informative and helpful articles such as “Finding calm in a crazy world,” and “Beat depression and winter doldrums, naturally,” which can be found on their website.

Backyard Bird Centre (backyardbird.ca, 778-216-9645) also has an informative website, but it’s much more fun to visit the store in person. Owner Randy Solomon told the Independent that he “had an interest in birds as a kid and then, in adult life, was looking for a way to ‘marry’ a hobby with a business concept; then along came the store.”

Solomon opened his first location in Port Moody in 1995, and now offers expert advice at his recently opened second store on Oak at 22nd. (He was very amiable and helpful when I was choosing birthday gifts – both belated – for my parents.)

“In addition to having the largest selection of hummingbird feeders and songbird feeders in B.C.,” said Solomon, “you’ll also find bird seed, bird baths, nesting boxes, quality wind chimes and a large selection of bird-themed gift items.”

According to the website, the centre has more than 100 styles of bird feeders in stock at any given time – the most in Canada. And Backyard offers “seed and suet programs that reward our loyal customers for their patronage.” However, while Backyard Bird Centre caters to birding enthusiasts, it carries many other interesting and/or beautiful (often both) products, such as lawn ornaments (the frogs in yoga poses are especially amusing), tea services, puzzles, stationery, shade coffee, handcrafted jewelry, nature clothing, the list goes on.

On the same block as Backyard Bird is 90’s Drycleaners (604-732-9020), which was established in 1968. Initially, it was called Courtesy Cleaners, but became 90’s Drycleaners, appropriately enough, in the 1990s. They pride themselves on courteous service, serving the neighborhood not only with high-quality work and low prices, but doing so in an environmentally friendly manner.

Also in the neighborhood, at King Edward Mall, is Hagen’s Travel and Cruises (hagenstravelvancouver.com, 604-257-2150).

“The name Hagen’s Travel and Cruises has been on the Lower Mainland travel scene since 1937,” Don Swaile explained to the Independent. “Mr. Baard Hagen, a prominent businessman in New Westminster, was appointed by Norwegian and Swedish America Lines as their representative to promote and sell their trans-Atlantic sailings.

“From these modest beginnings, Hagen’s Travel and Cruises has grown to be one of the most respected names in travel within British Columbia. Proud to be ‘the Original Cruises Experts,’ Hagen’s Travel and Cruises now has eight offices.”

The office in King Edward Mall has been there since 1969, said Swaile. “Our travel professionals provide services that consistently fulfil customer expectations. Friendly and knowledgeable travel specialists are dedicated to ensuring clients the highest value.”

Hagen’s provides several different types of special offers, such as “Give and Receive the Gift of Travel Certificates” and “Family Vacations,” about which you can learn more from their website or by dropping into the office.

According to the website, Hagen’s recently “was named by Holland America Line as a Centurion member (one of the top 100 cruise agencies in North America) and also was honored with the B.C. Consumer’s Choice Award as the best travel agency.”

King Edward Mall is home as well to Cleary Insurance (clearyinsurance.ca, 604-734-3224), which “has been part of the Jewish community for the past 32 years,” Patrick Cleary told the Independent, adding, “It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve and become friends with so many during that time.” Cleary Insurance specializes in auto, homeowners, travel, small business and marine craft insurance, and Cleary encouraged readers to “feel free to drop by our office if you have any questions, even if you are not clients of ours.”

While in the mall, Roberts & Brown Opticians (robertsandbrown.com, 604-731-5367) can be found a few doors down. For more than 20 years, Roberts & Brown has been offering a wide selection of frames, as well as featuring the largest selection of children and infant eyewear and eye patches (including colorful, fun ones) in British Columbia – they work closely with the department of ophthalmology at B.C. Children’s Hospital to provide the best possible solutions for children’s eye care and they offer special frame packages for children and babies.

Roberts & Brown can work with challenging prescriptions and has access to a range of lens styles and materials. In addition to single vision, progressive and multifocal lenses, they also carry high astigmatism, bicentric, extreme high spherical, lenticular and other types of lenses. They offer various eyewear accessories; custom clip-on glasses; repairs, adjustments and solder repairs for most eyeglasses; and prescription swim and ski goggles.

At 41st and Oak is a branch of BMO Financial Group, which the Independent uses for everyday transactions, as well as payroll and other automatic deductions, etc. While the paper’s branch is at 10th and Granville, we often visit the 41st and Oak branch (bmo.com, 604-668-1462) because of its proximity to the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, where we often find ourselves. The Oak Street BMO is a full-service branch that “offers a mix of banking services, everyday banking, investments and lending products for both personal and commercial customers,” according to the website. It offers service in several languages, including Russian and Ukrainian.

And, last but certainly not least on this brief tour of Oak Street is Admiral Insurance Services (Vancouver West) Inc. (604-263-1148), which “is a full-service insurance brokerage, offering risk analysis, coverage solutions, premium cost surveys and claims assistance,” explained Maria Cruz to the Independent. “As brokers, we represent the client when dealing with insurance companies for whatever needs they have, whether home, auto, business, medical, living benefits or life. The company has been operating since 1999, and its principals have almost 100 years combined experience in the insurance business.”

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