I don't know these businesses personally, but suggest them as standing out from the crowd.
Information in this list may not be up to date.
(While SSI has a reputation as Hippy Haven, full of activists and other people whose epistemology is one of paranoid delusions, I suspect it has the usual mix of people. It has great businesses and poor businesses and confused businesses.)
CONTENTS
- ACCOMODATION
- BOOKSTORES
- CLOTHING
- COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS/OFFICE
- DEPARTMENT STORES
- ENTERTAINMENT/ART
- EXCERCISE/PARKS
- FOOD
- HARDWARE/BUILDING SUPPLIES
- HAZARDS
- HISTORY
- MEDICAL
- SCENERY
- SERVICES
- TRANSPORTATION
- MISC
- AREAS
- COMMENT on LAND DEVELOPMENT
ACCOMODATION
BOOKSTORES
Sabine's is one of the world's best book stores. A nice place, well run. I'd call it a medium-sized bookstore, especially as it is well organized and tries hard to keep a good selection of books rather than just buying what shows up on the doorstep.
For newspapers, I encounter:
- the well-established Driftwood, weekly, the one to get for most news and ads.
- the very marxist Island Tides (though they are better journalists when they leave their hard-activist hat off - they dig out facts better than the Driftwood).
- a new free-ad paper, doubtful future as it does not have clear differentiation (though free ads worked well for the Buy and Sell on the mainland).
(The fancier left-wing paper, claiming to be a community alternative, disappeared as I predicted. I didn’t see its business plan as viable (it was leftist, the territory of the Island Tides though was broader, otherwise what was there to distinguish it from the Driftwood with its track record and connections?)
CLOTHING
Beware that coin laundry prices on SSI are 50% higher than Victoria and Vancouver. I suggest the one in front of Moby's pub as the better of the two I know of - open 7:00am to 10:00 pm, sharp, with a shower. But it seems not as well kept as five years ago. (Moby's may have showers in its new laundry building on the north side of the downtown waterfront area, unless they are restricted to mooring customers.) There is a laundry service on the street that Imagen is on.
COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS/OFFICE
COMPUTERS
Imagen Internet and the stationary store on the main road out of Ganges to the south have some accessories and supplies, and can rent time. Imagen and "The Source" (formerly "Radio Shack" might be able to sell you a computer - and the latter now has a good Internet kiosk. Either may have wireless Internet service. (The very good public library also has, but it is not reliable.)
The stationary store has an adequate stock. The owner works hard and does many smart things, but needs a better perspective on customers - I’ve been left in the lurch due to inadequate maintenance of her computer software.
The Pharmasave to the northwest of downtown Ganges had a coin operated self-serve copier but they were unwilling to get it serviced correctly, probably no longer there.
DEPARTMENT STORES
There is a Fields store on the main road out of Ganges toward Vesuvious.
ENTERTAINMENT/ART
Art
The arts centre often has art shows. The whiners are complaining about it, but Hey! it is there and usable - not bad for a small population - and the whiners did not pay for much of it’s cost.
EXCERCISE/PARKS
FOOD
The large grocery stores on SSI are not well run. Thrifty's tries to put its normal features in a store that is far too small - it just does not work and could be hazardous. Country Grocer/Village Market is sloppy, including having computer system errors, but their deli is probably of broader interest than Thrifty’s (who go for real fancy things, though they have some hard-to-find things such as Indian dishes). Unfortunately there is a widespread attitude and competence problem among backend/lead/manager positions there, especially for general grocery. (In contrast the cashiers care.)
I suggest trying the independent store near the south end of Ganges. Their selection is limited, especially for fresh foods which they now have even less of, but they try and are open somewhat later in the evening. (They have had difficulty keeping the store up due injury.)
There is a significant store in Fulford Harbour where the ferry from Victoria docks, a convenience store near the Golden Island - beats me how they survive with Village Market a block away - and another near the Vesuvious ferry terminal to Crofton. And Surprise! one near the liquor store in Ganges.
And if you travel by vehicle off of the island you can purchase elsewhere - even from the same chains. (Thrifty's is in Mill Bay and Sidney, and Country Grocer in Cobble Hill and Duncan, plus a good Safeway in Duncan and Sidney and an independent store in Sidney perhaps changed into a Fairway. Plus a worthwhile-looking produce stand on the freeway north of Duncan at the turnoff to Crofton.)
The Golden Island Chinese restaurant in Ganges is very good, not expensive. It does not try to be all things to all people, though has chicken strips for children. At Chinese New Year they get serious with a special set dinner - you'll need to book well ahead. Northwest side of town on the main road toward Vesuvious.
And the restaurant at Vesuvius, the ferry terminal to Crofton near Duncan, has good fish & chips as well as fancier food. However I recommend against it because the passageway to the main seating area is a head-basher and they do not care to fix it.
The Embe Bakery on the south edge of Ganges is worthwhile though expensive - now with both takeout and sit-down capability.
Look for the Korean family running a Sushi place on the south edge of the park in downtown Ganges, worth seeing.
There is a nice looking restaurant on the west side of the main street through Ganges, abeam the Thrifty's/Moats complex.
SSI does need a McDonalds. (That'll get the activists hopping. :-) But hey!, McDonalds provides consistent nutrition at a reasonable price. What is wrong with that?
HARDWARE/BUILDING SUPPLIES
For building supplies and some plumbing and electrical , Windsors' cares and performs, Slegg's seems better recently but it is a Slegg's. It is that simple.
For hardware, including plumbing and electrical, Moat's is fine (the store is too small to hold all they should have - but they have a lot and most of the plentiful staff care, though they can no longer be depended on to copy simple keys accurately.).
For a junk pile, go north on Robinson road - on the left at a bend is a place, doing dual duty as a UHaul rent-a-truck agency.
There are many independent tradesmen on SSI. Quality and integrity seems to vary as much as anywhere. Look for the local directory, sold by the Lions service club every year.
HISTORY
Lots.
SSI was settled fairly early in BC history, and was for a time a prime source of foods like fruit. (Today fruit growing is primarily a hobby, with some orchards having dozens of unusual varieties.)
Aboriginal peoples lived on SSI some decades, but had trouble with warring tribes from the north so abandoned it except for summer harvesting.
As well, SSI’s geology is different - exposed rock formations seem to have former horizontal layers in almost vertical position. (Both SSI and Vancouver Island have varying topography. Saltspring and the lower end of VI, including the Lake Cowichan area, seem oriented northwesterly.)
MEDICAL
There is a hospital, with a helicopter landing pad. (The other physically sizable islands, such as Galiano, have a few on-call medical personnel (their population is much less).
Pharmasave has two locations in Ganges. Staff are very good but attention to detail in shelf signage and maintenance of equipment is lacking.
SCENERY
SERVICES
Watch out for mis-representation of "Salt Spring Island Dollars", a local "currency". (Legally only gift certificates.) It may be a reasonable program, whose purpose is a charitable benefit, but some of its promoters have mis-represented it as Canadian currency and the organization's "backed by Canadian currency" needs study. (Apparently they have removed one barrier, at the cost of revenue, by eliminating the previously short expiry period.) I recommend charity on chosen values not collectivism.
TRANSPORTATION
Narrow roads.
No transit system, though one is planned, except for a private bus between ferry terminals and Ganges (the Faerie Express or such) and the usual taxi service.
There is an auto parts store. If you walk in the front door you may have to yell to get served as they have that horrid practice of answering the phone instead of serving those in front of them - but service is better now.
Beware that many businesses on Saltspring Island close on long weekends - just when a fresh batch of customers are arriving. Exceptions I note are:
- Laurie's garbage service on the road past the hospital (in contrast to the recycling society and the garbage transfer station.)
- grocery stores, in contrast to lumber stores
- Sabines bookstore, in contrast to the Radio Shack/Source store.
Also be aware that Saltspring is not free of crime. Seriously bad behaviour in downtown Ganges is a problem RCMP are working on though I am wary that they understand where to draw the line, vehicles are stolen for joyriding, etc.
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