Company Background This business site was built by Hans Jurgen Frankfurt, a brick mason from Germany who became a fisherman. It opened for business in June 1987. Jerry MacLean operated the garage under the name "Jerry's Ultramar". Jurgen's wife Trudy opened the grocery/convenience business shortly afterwards under the name "Trudy's Grocery". A few months later, Linda Lidstone took over the store operation under the name "Country Corner Grocery" until 1997. From 1994-1996, Jurgen and Trudy's son Harley took over the garage under the name "Peter's Road Ultramar" with his wife April. From 1996-7, Earl and Darlene Fraser ran the garage under the same name. In 1997, the daughter of Jurgen and Trudy, Heidi Frankfurt, returned from her studies at McGill University in Montreal with her common-law spouse Justin Batten to run the family business under the names "Winds Corner Store" and "Winds Ultramar". Next to the store, Jurgen Frankfurt began construction on a small motel to be completed by his son Harley which opened for business in May 1991 under the name "Anchor of Hope Motel". In 1997, operation of the motel was assumed by Heidi and Justin and in 1999 the name was changed to "Winds Motel". Origin of the name: Winds Inc. Heidi had a dream of one day owning a resort and thought of the name WINDS. They decided to use that name so that it would be a starting point towards that dream, start small, think big! As it turned out, the location was a windy one and so it all worked out. We wanted something to coincide with the company's name and so we selected a windmill like those for which Holland is famous. It recognizes the European background of both the founder and current operators. Every spring the corner blooms with hundreds of tulips to complete the picture. Cornerstone in the Community: This corner has become a socially and geographically significant cornerstone. It provides a meeting place for neighbours and is just like the 1980's show "Cheers " where everybody nows your name! It's the center for local news and events. We've definitely incorporated a friendly, get-to-know-you atmosphere between our staff and customers. The Independent Small Business: In the last decade or so, it is becoming increasingly difficult for independently owned small businesses to keep up with the rapid growth of corporately owned chains backed with enormous resources. The lure of chains is their general visual appeal and standardized services. However, the drawback to these is the loss of individual control, a dictatorial control by heads of huge corporations, and a severe loss of personal attention. Workers and managers are commodities as are customers unable to negotiate terms that aren't specifically in accordance to corporate policies. The lack of personalized assistance and hard-knock business to cuts costs and increase profits at any cost has taken its toll on society as a whole. That's why you should help out by supporting your little independent stores, and hopefully you'll find it's worth the visit. Growth and Changes of our Business: * Special thanks to Tom Carver, and the crew of Thomas M. Carver ltd. Since the business opened in 1987 and 1991, there had been no major renovations attempted and when we took over in 1997, we had a vision of how we wanted the place to look. We started small and did all the work ourselves. We painted the whole store over and put in flooring. Then we started improving the motel parking lot by widening it and making a flowerbed fence-line which made it look very quaint. Within the store we tried offering various services like faxing and photocopying and we were also one of the first DVD renters on the Island. We had one of the first POS computerized sales systems for convenience stores on the Island as well. The locals thought we were crazy when we tried to scan their newspapers but it soon became the norm and we were able to assist several other business owners who had questions about the system. In 2001, we took out a renovation loan to do some extensive renovations. This became problematic. We wanted to put in an outdoor swimming pool, but that got put on hold. We attempted to add another service- 1 hour photo developing, but it was more difficult to get off the ground than we believed. The biggest part of the renovations was the canopy for over the gas pump island and building a new pump island to add self serve. This task was very difficult because of all the new environmental regulations. Unfortunately, a contamination was discovered on the site so bad luck and bad information lead to the business's demise. Our canopy had to be taken down after almost a year of organizing having it put up in order to dig out the contaminated soil. After 33' of digging we managed to have the most successful clean-up the people from environment hadever seen. However , we had a huge mess and no money to finish the project. While that was going on, Justin and our friend/co-worker Graham MacDonald decided to continue with other renovations by knocking out the wall between the store and garage to expand the store into the unused garage area. They tiled the area, painted, and eventually built movie shelves to house our ever-increasing stock of videos and dvd's. Talk about a plateful. And if that wasn't enough, Heidi was pregnant with their first child. It has now been three years since that all took place and we are starting to recover again. It's been almost too much of a learning experience for us. As we continue to try and put the place in order and accomplish what we set out to do, we try and remain optimistic about what the future has in store professionally and socially. Motel: We have a small 6 unit motel which is very clean and affordable. Each unit contains 2 double beds, cable TV, in-room coffee, air-conditioning, and full bath. Rates: $50/night off-season $60/night July1-August 31 It is situated very conveniently 7 minutes from Montague, 15 minutes from Wood Islands ferry to Nova Scotia, and 35 minutes from Charlottetown by car. It's great for people who want to escape the rat race of cities and high touristic regions. There are various low-key attractions such as boat tours, seal watching, sailing and golf adventures. Enjoy the scenery biking and hiking on Confederation trails. Close by are lots of beautiful beaches, festival, live entertainment, and of course, there's plenty of fish and seafood. Just a few kilometers away,take advantage of aa aerial tour where famous lighthouses and red cliffs line the coast. And don't miss the variety of arts, crafts and antiques showcased in little spots scattered throughout the region. French and German spoken. Store: The store features extensive convenience items as well as a good variety of lubes, grocery items, dairy and bread. We sell tobacco and LOTTO and have over 2000 videos and 800 DVD's for rent. Old releases on both formats are just 85¢ plus tax everyday. We also offer faxing and photocopying. In July 2004 we added a coffee drive-thru featuring coffee freshly roasted from this area's local coffee roasting company, "PEI Coffee Roasting Company" Gas: We sell full serve gas and diesel under the Ultramar program for the Island. Pricing for gas on the Island is regulated by I.R.A.C. - Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission We have an on-site air compressor. Future plans: For the motel, we'd like to add more units and build a swimming pool. For the store we plan to fully redesign the interior and do a photo-lab. For the gas we want to get self-serve available as soon as possible. Payment: We accept all forms of payment- cash, debit, and dozens of varieties of credit cards. Hours: We've attempted to increase the amount of hours we're open to better serve our customers. We also stay open during all holidays including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day oftentimes being the only place open. On Sundays we open at 9a.m. when most other gas/ convenience businesses in our area open at noon. From July 1, 2002 - January 1, 2003 and from May 1- November 1, 2003 we attempted to open 24 hours. We were the only 24 hour convenience/gas east of Charlottetown. Future hours may again include a seasonal 24 hour service. Ice Cream Shack This was built in 1997 by Heidi and Justin for the purpose of a motel office and ice cream shop. In 1999, Justin and Heidi added a beautiful deck to try and attract more customers. In 2000, Heidi shingled the whole building to make it look more appealing and did new signage- huge cut-out letters on the side of the building. Our products included hard icecream, milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits, fountain pop, and icecream floats. In an attempt to increase business we added soft serve icecream, a juice fountain, and slushies. As part of the renovations, we wanted to put in an outdoor swimming pool for the guests as well as for local children. We figured this would definitely create enough income to keep the place busy enough to keep open. Unfortunately, after the problems during renovations, the icecream shop has been closed. p> Future Plans: To open at a later date when the swimming pool is finished. Our Staff: Click Here for staff photos Owners:Justin Batten, Heidi Frankfurt Former staff members:Adam Acorn, David Batten, Samantha Batten, Katie Beck, Matt Boczkowski, Connie Brown, Shawna Burhoe, Gineen Butler, Kirk Butler, Daisha Campbell, Evan Campbell, Maggie Campbell, Kristina Chapman, Michele Chapman, Charity Collings, Miranda Cooper, Stephanie Daley, BJ Doucette, Charlotte Fraser, Thomas Gallant, Keiran Gibbs, Tena Gormley, Jennifer Graham, Richard Greene, Adam Guindon, Cole Halley, Clint Herring, Kyle Hicken, Karry Higginbotham, Becky Jesso, Gilles Lapierre, Trevor Leeco, Patricia Johnson, Amber Johnston, Josh Livingstone, Graham MacDonald, Tanya MacIntyre, Joel MacLean, Kristina MacPhee, Lance Martin, Anne Petley, Zephyr Polk, Sara Prosser, Cheyenne Retieff, Lisa Sawler, April Scott, Kim Scott, Daniel Taylor, Andrew Walsh, Sonya Whatmore, Amanda Whiteway, Johnathon Woodliffe, Sarah Woodliffe, Rebecca Wuensch.