Rising food prices and families increasingly cramped for time led Nelson Ko to create a new web site that allows shoppers to find the cheapest grocery prices in the city.
TillChecker.com gleans weekly flyers from major chains and lets shoppers input the best prices they find. It’s a free service for people who sign up and submit a list of groceries they buy each week. The lists are then filled in with the best prices from area stores -currently Thrifty Foods, Fairway Markets, Walmart, Safeway, Save On Foods and the Real Canadian Superstore.
Ko, who is married with two children and grew up in the grocery business, said he built the site after noticing his grocery bill escalate over $200 a week. He said food prices are being pushed higher by political unrest, fuel prices, weather conditions and other factors, leaving consumers with tighter household budgets.
He said people scour the Internet to compare prices for other big-ticket items like electronics, but do little checking when a family of four can spend $10,000 a year on groceries. “If you can save a percentage of that by spending a couple of minutes on a website, why wouldn’t you do it?” said Ko.
Ko realizes price may not be everything as some stores are too busy, too far away or don’t carry the right products. “But if you have a tool to determine how much you could save, perhaps a store becomes worthwhile,” he said.
Ko’s father, Hon Ko, owned Sidney Super Foods for 45 years before selling to Fairway. He worked in the store growing up and managed it for Fairway after the sale. He currently has business provisioning cruise ships and naval vessels.
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He isn’t making any money off the site, but said the long-term plan is to draw advertising revenue from companies like Kellogg’s and Campbell’s, distributors and grocery stores. He is currently building an iPhone app.
DRAGON BAIT
Jason Heitt and Darren Owen, the guys behind the Armageddon Fighting Championships in Langford, are the latest Victorians scheduled to appear on the Dragon’s Den. The partners are under gag orders from CBC on what transpired during taping last year, with Heitt saying only it will be “unlike anything you’ve seen on the Dragon’s Den before.” The episode airs March 9 at 8 p.m. Heitt and Owen are hoping to attract investment partners to grow their extreme fighting bouts and land lucrative broadcasting deals. They claim the last Armageddon bout attracted eight million viewers on The Fight Network and was picked up locally by CHEK TV. Their latest live version, AFC 5: Judgment Day, is April 2 at Bear Mountain Arena.
WET DROP-OFFS
Dave and Cindy Hatt, owners of the environmentally friendly WetCleaner on Cook Street, have partnered with four local businesses to provide drop-off and pickup points for clothing -Hemp & Co. stores downtown and on Craigflower in Vic West; the new Guardian Pharmacy on Oak Bay Avenue; and the People’s Pharmacy in Cadboro Bay Village. The turnaround is about three days. Wet Cleaners bills itself as the region’s only non-toxic drycleaner. Call 250-381-2221 or visit http://www.thewetcleaner.com
NEW DESIGN STUDIO
Design District Studio Inc. is a new buying group, showroom and resource library at 1826 Government St., at Chatham downtown, aimed at interior designers and home stagers. Danisha Drury is the principal owner and Donna Morrison is minor partner and studio manager. The company offers fabrics, wall and window coverings and custom-ordered furniture as well as an in-house independent kitchen and bath designer. Call 250-590-8598.
ALL THINGS BALANCED
Gail Cole has started All Things Balanced, a Victoria consulting company specializing in home, business and landscape feng shui. She can be reached at 250-589-2035 or http://www.allthingsbalanced.com
CAMOSUN JOBS LINK
Natasha Dilay has joined Camosun College’s School of Business to develop new relationships and work with existing employers in the business community for the college’s work co-op programs. Dilay was previously an employment counsellor at the provincially funded Career Assistance and Resources for Employment. Call 250-370-4107.
LAND TITLE CHANGES
Former B.C. attorney general Geoff Plant has been named chairman of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, effective April 1. The Vancouver lawyer, representing the Law Society of B.C., will succeed certified management accountant Wanda Costuros. Also appointed to the authority board for three-year terms are Robert Wallace, CEO of the Real Estate Board of Vancouver, and Fort St. John land surveyor Michael Waberski. In other moves, Carlos MacDonald was appointed registrar at the Victoria land titles office. He’s a University of Victoria law grad, called to the bar in 1999, and most recently practised corporate and commercial law with Cook Roberts in Victoria. Larry Blaschuck, registrar of the New Westminster office, will also oversee operations at the Kamloops land title branch.
UVIC PROF HONOURED
Dr. Catherine Mateer, a neuropsychology professor at the University of Victoria, is the initial recipient of an award named in her honour. The B.C. Psychology Association created the Catherine Mateer Award to recognize individuals who have made significant advancements in psychology using a scientistpractitioner model to bridge science with the application to real people in real situations. Mateer is widely known for her groundbreaking work in cognitive rehabilitation for survivors of head trauma.
LIQUID WASTE AUDIT
The Capital Regional District is looking for a consulting firm with experience in environmental audits of liquid waste to help determine and document the extent to which the CRD and participating municipalities have complied with the commitments laid out in the 2003 Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan. The CRD has mandated that every five years a review be prepared and be open to comments from the public. The first audit report was created Feb. 3, 2006 by Jacques Whitford, now with Stantec. The request for qualifications is to select three firms who will be invited to submit detailed proposals for the project and closes March 9. Details at yellowsheet.ca
dkloster@timescolonist.com
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