This page was exported from Shelburne Free Press [ https://shelburnefreepress.ca ] Export date:Wed Jul 3 17:23:03 2024 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Small town shops threatened by iconic Canadian brand --------------------------------------------------- Tim Hortons is considered to be as Canadian as they come. The brand is as recognizable as hockey, snow or the maple leaf. But in Shelburne, there is a sense that this iconic Canadian company has taken on the shape of an American big box store and ironically is threatening the very image it appears to hold dear – small town Canada. Pete's Deli is one of those businesses that are stepping up to meet the competition head on. For two decades Helen Fleming has owned and operated Pete's Deli on Main Street. It is a community gathering place where local residents, farmers, all shapes and sizes of townspeople meet and greet. Now with the internationally recognized coffee shop on the verge of opening Helen is making sure she stays open despite the challenge. “I'm grateful to have had 20 good years of developing my business in Shelburne,” was her first reaction when she heard that Tim's was opening up across the street. Admittedly, there is a sense that the strength of brand along with the ‘drive-thru' will impact her bottom line. “It's going to hurt me, that goes without saying. It's undeniable,” explained Helen.  “I'm not going to compete with them; I cannot compete with them, I am going to diversify my business so I can include items not sold by them.” She is also very reflective on how big box stores have impacted Main Streets. “Downtowns paid a price,” she continued. “People are very resilient and hopefully I can still be.” And that resiliency has kept Pete's Deli going for almost two decades to the point she feels she has a leg up over her soon to be competitor – food. “The food is out of this world.  There is no competition with the food as far as Tim Hortons is concerned,” she added. “The challenge is that when people pick up a coffee at Tim's they will probably pick up food.” One thing small towns have seen though with the increase competition from franchises is that communities do shop with their feet and search out boutique and niche market stores like Pete's Deli. Over the next few weeks Helen is looking at introducing a new menu to her loyal customer base that she hopes will continue to grow, despite the new neighbour across the street and keep her business open for years to come. By Wallace Pidgeon       --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2013-10-11 09:40:54 Post date GMT: 2013-10-11 13:40:54 Post modified date: 2013-10-16 19:07:34 Post modified date GMT: 2013-10-16 23:07:34 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com