Meese clothing store owners Tressa Heckbert and Evan Sterling will celebrate the grand opening of their sister store in Edmonton this weekend.
The duo opened Meese in downtown St. Albert three years ago, and have received tremendous support from the community in the years since.
“It’s been a really great adventure, we’ve got awesome support in St. Albert and we also live in St. Albert so it was a really great choice for us to start here and have our flagship store here,” Heckbert told the Gazette on Tuesday.
Like the flagship store in St. Albert, the new store, named Meese on 124, will feature 100 per cent Canadian made and manufactured labels, including Heckbert’s own Sessa Wearables.
“Through the years it’s been a lot of work finding new independent designers as well to bring into the large grouping that we have here at Meese,” she said, adding that the store has grown to 46 labels from 20.
“I was pretty inspired at a young age doing design and when I was going to college, one of my goals was to one day open a boutique where I would carry my house line and also support other independent Canadian designers and give them a platform to really show themselves,” Heckbert said.
The new store will be smaller than the St. Albert location, which features an in-house studio. Both locations will feature different lines and styles.
Heckbert said a number of local designers will be on hand at the new location this weekend. Customers can also expect some good local fare and 10 per cent off in honour of the new location.
“Come on down, I think it’s going to be a great time,” said Heckbert.
“I’m really excited.”
Meese is located at 31-D Perron Street, St. Albert. The grand opening for Meese on 124 will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Friday at the corner of 124 Street and 103 Avenue in Edmonton.
Visitors to the Campbell Business Park in dire need of a double-double will have that opportunity when a new Tim Hortons franchise opens its doors next year.
Construction started earlier this month on a Tim Hortons/Esso gas bar on the corner of Carnegie Drive and Corriveau Avenue. The restaurant will be a full-service Tim Hortons while the gas station will also include a touchless carwash with two bays, said Jas Dugal, son of landowner and developer Jay Dugal, who also owns the Campbell Liquor Store and surrounding land in Campbell South.
“We’re very excited,” Jas said of the new business park additions. “I know this area has been underserviced and we’ve been wanting to this project for some time.”
Construction crews are currently stripping the land and work is proceeding smoothly, he said.
The development was made possible thanks to land-use bylaw changes that city council approved in 2007. Prior to the changes, hotels and drive-thru businesses were not permitted uses in Campbell Park.
Council agreed to bylaw amendments after Dugal informed them of plans to build a 102-room hotel in Campbell Park along with the gas bar.
Jas said he couldn’t comment on the status of any future hotel plans.
The new Tim Hortons and gas bar will open next spring, he said.
