Kingston East’s newest mini café is set to open on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Located in Freeman’s Wine Making Shop, The Cork and Beans Café will serve coffee, Cappuccino, Café Latte, Espresso, Hot Chocolate, Chai tea, and seasonal drinks.

Ashley Kekkas, the Barista, will be serving hot beverages from Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 – 6 and Saturdays from 8:30 – 5.

ACFOMI’s Chair, Ms. Diane Sabourin, announced the appointment of Ms. Lucie Mercier as the new Executive Director at ACFOMI and Ms. Nathalie Dion as the new ACFOMI Employment Services Director on January 11th.

Nathalie Dion, succeeds Mrs. Annie Thibault. With a degree in Management, Bachelor of Education and an active member of the Canadian Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, Ms. Dion will maintain sound management within ACFOMI Employment Services.

Freeman’s Winemaking Shop in the Rideau Town Centre is the first Winexpert ‘Concept’ store. Its modern decor and coffee cafe give customers a very elegant feel when they walk in the door. To celebrate the new store, Janet and Bill Goneau gave away two fantastic prizes and made a donation to the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre.

Kingston Day Care Inc. (KDC) announced today that services will be consolidated at three operating sites in 2012, down from the current four. Child care services currently offered at its Gore Road location (Rideau Child Care Centre) in Kingston East will be discontinued.

Beach Bum Bill from the Snack Shack visited Jacob Dion on his birthday and delivered Kid’s Meals for the whole party.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Bonnie Wannamaker, owner of the Snack Shack. “And that’s what we’re all about.”

Scott Milikin won the Snack Shack “Name The Mascot Contest” and walked away with a $40 gift certificate. The Snack Shack Mascot is very happy as he now has a name, Beach Bum Bill. “I feel complete now,” said Beach Bum Bill. The finalist names included Surfer Sandy, Dude, Zack Snack, Snack Shack Jack, and Bummer.

The first of four new commercial/semi-industrial buildings in the St. Lawrence Business Park is almost complete and already 80 percent leased.

“We just got the permit for the next buildings, so construction will commence shortly,” said Frank Casamatta, owner of Empire Design Build, based in Concord (a suburb of Toronto).

The Wine Making Shop in the Rideau Town Centre went through a transformation in September to become the first Winexpert model store in the world.

A Winexpert representative said, “We chose this location to open our first model store because of Janet, Bill, and Mike. They are a fun bunch of people to work with and they have a long history of wine making experience. Janet and Bill have been making wine for twenty-five years, so it was a natural for us to partner with them here.”

Snack Shack brings the beach to Kingston East. This little take-out restaurant is tucked in behind the Barriefield Carwash and is barely noticeable from Highway 15, but it’s definitely worth looking for. It’s a little place with a big personality. The beach themed food combinations even include kid’s meals.

Genevieve Hudson will be opening a new music studio where she’ll be teaching kids to play piano. Genevieve joins Jana Bolton as the second teacher in Kingston East and will be teaching at St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Barriefield, while she’s looking for a more permanent location.