The Pulse: July 26, 2022

Slated to open in August, Pal's Sandwich Bar is the latest restaurant from the team behind The Next Act, Meat, and Pip. The classic sandwich shop will be the group's fourth venture within a one-block radius.

Co-owner Saylish Haas said monopolizing the intersection of 104 Street and 83 Avenue was never a grand plan; it just gradually happened that way. "There were never long-term plans to take over the block, but it has come through opportunities that arose," Haas told Taproot.

Last year, the owners' realtor sent a listing for the building east of their other properties, which formerly housed Packrat Louie, among other restaurants. "We looked at it more as a joke with the partners, but then we said, 'Why not?'," said Haas. "Pip doesn't have enough seats, and with the space we would conquer that issue."

Shifting Pip across the street will more than double its size from 28 seats at its current location to about 80 seats in the new one. Expect its doors to open in September, with minor tweaks. "We will stick with our current menu when we launch," said Haas. "It will be Pip as you know it."

During the design phase, they soon realized the new space could house an additional concept, made up of 40 seats and a large patio. After identifying a gap in quality sandwiches available in the area, Pal's was born. "Our whole concept is comfort food," said Haas. "Pal's will be an intimate sandwich shop, with great food, desserts, cocktails, and wine."

Pip chef Brad Tebble has moved over to lead Pal's, which is how the name came to be. "Brad calls everyone 'pal' and signs off e-mails that way," said Haas. "So it is an ode to our head chef — this is where you can hang out with your pal, and it is a nice way to capture that you're going to a place that is casual and easygoing."

• Pope Francis visited the site of the former Ermineskin Indian Residential School in Maskwacis on July 25 and apologized for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools. "I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous people," the Pope said in his speech, which was delivered in Spanish and translated into several Indigenous languages and English for a crowd of thousands, including many survivors. The Pope's "penitential pilgrimage" continues with mass in Commonwealth Stadium on July 26.
• Church Street, a section along 96 Street in McCauley, hosted Pope Francis and significant crowds for an invitation-only event for parishioners of the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples. The street is known for having many churches and temples, which have largely served newcomers communities since the early 1900s. Colleen Chapman, founder of Friends of Church Street, hopes the Pope's visit brings attention to the historical significance of the street. "Most (churches) are fighting for the survival of their programs," she said. "I would like to celebrate Church Street."
• The city is offering one-time grants of up to $100,000 to community leaders and organizations working to make Edmonton safer and more inclusive. Eligible projects must be completed within the next two years and align with the outcomes of the Community Safety and Well-Being Strategy, including truth and reconciliation, anti-racism, and crime prevention. A total of $1.5 million is available, and applications will be accepted online until Sept. 12.
• A truck convoy that rolled through downtown Edmonton on July 23, which participants said was held in solidarity with Dutch farmers against emission reduction policies, resulted in 18 traffic tickets, 10 noise violations, and three jaywalking tickets, according to the Edmonton Police Service. It also resulted in a "beautiful interaction" with naked cyclists participating in the World Naked Bike Ride, according to Twitter user Eric Tully.
• Paula Findlay, Edmonton-born triathlete star, placed second at the Professional Triathlon Organisation Canadian Open, which took place in Hawrelak Park on July 23. Findlay's accomplishment comes a decade after the five major triathlon victories that first put her in the public eye.
• Luke Pierce has been named the new head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings. Pierce has served as an assistant coach with the Oil Kings since the 2018-19 season. "I don't take the challenge and responsibility lightly and I'm really thankful for the opportunity to lead this franchise," he said.
• The Edmonton Riverhawks baseball team has been building a loyal following this summer at Re/Max Field, Postmedia reports. The team begins its final homestand of the season on July 26 against the Kamloops NorthPaws.

As CEO Brian Heath officially opened Drivewyze's new corporate headquarters in south Edmonton, he got a big laugh from the crowd as he showed a picture of his company's first office space — a Tim Hortons near the University of Alberta campus.

That's where he and co-founder Fred Ko first started talking about building a company around safety technology for the trucking industry as they pursued their MBAs. Three real offices and 19 years after they founded parent company Intelligent Imaging Systems, their spinoff Drivewyze now has a new, 30,000-square-foot building, complete with a pickleball court, an outdoor patio, a foosball table, and other accoutrements you might expect from a fast-growing software-as-a-service company.

"We went from meetings in a local coffee shop to becoming the driving force in innovation and technology in the trucking industry — all by attracting world-class people and talent right here in Edmonton," Ko said in a release about the July 21 opening of the new building at 5425 Calgary Trail.

Heath told a crowd of employees, customers, partners, and officials that he wants the complex to serve not only Drivewyze's staff, but also the community, welcoming startup events, hackathons, and the like to the spacious auditorium.

Since it was a featured company at Startup Edmonton's Launch Party 4 in 2013, Drivewyze has grown into an operation with 200+ employees, looking after software in more than 2.8 million trucks and customers in 43 states and two provinces.