When Kathleen and Ryan Chisholm were living in Halifax, starting a pizza company in Nakusp was beyond their wildest dreams.
That dream became a reality just months ago when the couple moved to town, bought a property and launched Arrow and Anchor Pizza.
Kathleen said the idea came about after multiple visits to the region.
“My family is living around Nakusp now and we’ve been camping in the area for years,” she said. “Since my husband is a professional chef, we just saw this opportunity open up.”
They were contemplating buying the property for two years, which is about the same amount of time that it has been available on the market.
According to Kathleen, she and her husband’s passion for pizza finally convinced them to pursue the business opportunity.
“In Halifax, we had a favourite pizza place that we went to that was managed by our friends,” said Kathleen.
“We’ve also travelled to Italy for a month and just spent our time eating pizza. Afterward the pizza was all we talked about and we knew we had to open the restaurant.”
It took them about eight months to complete their business plan, menu and recipes.
Despite the recent circumstances brought on by COVID-19, Kathleen said, traffic to the restaurant has been great.
“The reception at the restaurant has been absolutely amazing, even though we were nervous opening during the pandemic,” said Kathleen. “We also feel so lucky that we were able to do take out easily since it’s pizza.”
Between 50 and 75 people have been visiting the store each day.
Kathleen said they’ve had to limit the number of people entering the store to help follow physical distancing protocols set out by the B.C. government.
Arrow and Anchor Pizza is located at 314 Broadway in Nakusp and is open every day except Tuesday.
READ MORE: New business offers hospitality to cats
@connortrembley
connor.trembley@castlegarnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.