Heard On The Street

Hussein Khalil is moving his Desjardins Insurance business — operating as Khalil Insurance Agency — into a space previously occupied by From The Heart at 1356 Ottawa Street. He expects to be open by the end of July. “We’re expanding our business and it’s getting a little tight in our current location,” explains Khalil who has been with Desjardins for four years. He’s redoing the electrical and plumbing systems, replacing much of the flooring and ceiling, as well as changing the outer facade of the building, including that of White Feather Holistic Arts, his next-door neighbour and tenant. Khalil was leasing his previous location at 1291 Wyandotte Street East and now he’s purchased this new space, which provides more stability for his five-person agency. “We’re also subdividing the space into offices to provide more privacy for everyone,” adds Khalil. For more information, visit: KhalilInsurance.ca.

Citing health issues, the owner of the popular Mr. Biggs Sports Bar and Eatery in Belle River, Al Fazio, has put his bar up for sale. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017, Fazio has finally decided the time has come to turn the 130-capacity restaurant over to someone else. There are also 78 available seats on the bar side of the restaurant, situated at 405 Notre Dame Street. It is listed at $699,000 with a combined price of $2,799,900 for both the business and building. There are currently about 20 employees. To learn more about the bar check: Facebook.com/biggsBR. Anyone interested in purchasing the business can contact Andrew J. Smith and Martin Shkreli via: AndrewJSmithRealty.com.

A second location of Smoke & Spice Southern Barbeque opens this fall at 1959 Tecumseh Road West in Windsor, previously housing Indian restaurant, Tandoori Flame & Sweets for less than a year. According to Uran Kuci, a REALTOR with Windsor’s Royal LePage Binder Real Estate and Kuci Homes, the new restaurant’s exterior and interior renovations will be major improvements to the entire area. An eastside location of Smoke & Spice has operated for many years at 7470 Tecumseh Road East (online info at: SmokenSpice.com).

Inside White Woods, a new shop in downtown Amherstburg, you’ll find beautiful cookware and tableware. Pictured from left are: Esther Reaume, Owner and Retail Director with Michele Bodde, part-time helper. Photo by Della Jones-Goulet.

Mother and daughter team, Esther Reaume and Beth England, have opened two new businesses in downtown Amherstburg. Reaume runs White Woods at 63 Richmond Street, which opened a permanent location at the end of June (an interim location was previously housed in the upper level of River Book Shop, 67 Richmond Street). England opened Evelyn’s Candy House, right next door, at the beginning of July. The White Woods store sells everything from tableware to gourmet food products, and from kitchen tools to unique giftware items. “We’ve been very busy almost from day one,” says Reaume. England, meanwhile, stocks her shop with different kinds of unique candy products. “We’re also making our own lollipops, salted caramel, and fruit chews with all-natural flavours,” states England. For more information, visit: WhiteWoodsHome.ca and: Facebook.com/evelynscandyhouse. Harish Gudavalli, who has owned India Paradise Restaurant at 1459 Ottawa Street in Windsor for the past four years, is doubling the size of his restaurant’s space by adding 65 seats. “It’s a good time to expand now that pandemic restrictions have been largely eliminated,” Gudavalli indicates. The restaurant specializes in a wide variety of breads and appetizers, as well as chicken and lamb dishes. For further details visit: IndiaParadise.ca.

The transformation of downtown Amherstburg continues with the redevelopment of 61 Richmond Street into 10 single offices, plus a gourmet popcorn shop. Realtor Dan Gemus, CEO/Broker of Record with the Dan Gemus Real Estate Team Ltd. Brokerage, is handling the project along with his wife Nicole. The Richmond Popcorn Company (RichmondPopcorn.com) will be part of the complex being constructed in the centre of town. “There’s been a huge demand, and since we went public with the project at the beginning of June, eight of the offices were rented,” he says. “They’ve been snapped up by professional businesses, such as a social worker, bookkeeper, a mortgage broker, and a marketing company.” Gemus expects all the renovations to be complete by September. Tenants will pay a flat fee for their unit, which will include access to the building’s common areas, such as a boardroom and kitchenette. The development will complement other businesses in the core including the River Book Shop and The Panetteria, gourmet European-style bakery.

Serial entrepreneur Vito Maggio is working hard at bringing two more buildings to life, one in downtown Windsor and another in Walkerville. He’s transforming a former CIBC Bank building at Devonshire Road and Assumption Street into an upscale restaurant/bar and is rejuvenating the former City Grill at 375 Ouellette Avenue to Vito’s 2 Go Pizzeria. Maggio already owns O’Maggio’s Kildare House (1880 Wyandotte Street East; KildareHouse.com) and Vito’s Pizzeria (1731 Wyandotte Street East; VitosPizzeria.net). His plans for the bank building include leaving the 145-year-old exterior intact, while adding a long bar, rooftop patio and an event space for private parties in the interior.