You might have already spotted them: colourful banners hanging along the West Broadway corridor featuring illustrations of local business owners. More than just a tip of the hat to some of the area’s longest-running businesses, the banners are also part of a special exhibition called Stories on Broadway, featuring the resilient entrepreneurs and the street they call home, launching April 21 at the Kitsilano library branch.
“There are merchants who have been on West Broadway for many years, and they’re part of the community, like a small business family,” said Michelle Barile, manager with the West Broadway BIA, who spearheaded the banner project and exhibition. The installation gives community members a behind-the-scenes look at 73 businesses – 85 percent of which are independent – and business owners on West Broadway from Collingwood to Larch streets. Also on display will be special collections of photos, historic maps and brochures of the area that paint a picture of its evolution over the years.
West Broadway merchant Nick Panos – who will be at the launch event – grew up in the small village of Mavrommati, Greece, before immigrating to Canada in 1961. He started working in Vancouver as a busboy, then waiter and soon he was managing a bar.
“I always wanted to be my own boss and I like to take risks,” said Panos over the phone from his store at 3230 West Broadway. He and a business partner published a monthly Greek newspaper in Vancouver from 1971-74, putting him closely in touch with the West Broadway community, which is known for its Greek roots. In 1974, Panos opened Omega Travel, the same year he co-founded Greek Day, to answer a need for a travel service to Greece for members of the Hellenic community, later expanding the business to offer travel to other destinations. “I have a lot of friends on West Broadway,” said Panos, who also co-founded and is a current board member of the West Broadway BIA. “It’s my home away from home.”
Phyllis Simon, who now co-owns Kidsbooks with Kelly McKinnon, began her foray into entrepreneurship in her mid-30s. After working as a children’s librarian, Simon took what was then a big risk, considering the state of the BC economy during the 1980s recession. She opened Kidsbooks in 1987 to maintain the same relationship and bond she had with children’s literature, families and teachers, who also shared her passion for teaching children through books. Her first store on West 4th Avenue sold LPs along with popular printed children’s books. You won’t see LPs, or the cassettes that followed, at her current location at 2557 West Broadway, but you can find book enhancements, such as gardening tools, puppets and board games, to further engage children and parents in the world of books. “Puppetry with books is a beautiful relationship,” Simon said. “When children put a puppet on their hand, they tell a story through the puppet, so literature and puppetry is definitely a hand-in-hand concept.”
The Stories on Broadway exhibition, which runs from April 22-June 1 at the Kitsilano library branch at 2425 MacDonald St., is a partnership between the Vancouver Public Library, Kitsilano Community Centre and West Broadway BIA.
• The launch event takes place Friday, April 21 from 6:30-8:30pm. Merchants will be giving away prizes and light refreshments will be served. RSVP to assistant@kitsonbroadway.com.
