The Pulse: March 15, 2024

As Teresa Spinelli eyes further expansion within Calgary by next fall for the growing assembly of Italian Centre Shop locations, she's also looking beyond Alberta to new store possibilities in Saskatoon and even Victoria.

"We just signed a deal for our second store in Calgary," Spinelli, president of the company, told Taproot. "Hopefully we'll do a third store in Calgary, but I think Saskatoon will come before the third (Calgary) store because Calgary is such a tough market to find space in."

Spinelli said the second Calgary store, set to be located in the northwest quadrant of the city, took eight years to find space for. Edmonton has nearly twice as much commercial retail space as Calgary, she said, adding the types of spaces are different, too. "There's lots of places (in Calgary) that are 4,000 square feet or 3,000 square feet, but we need at least 20,000 square feet," she said.

Spinelli and her company launched the Italian Centre in Calgary's Willow Park in 2015.

She said her deal with a Calgary developer includes an October 2025 possession date, but both sides are working to make it happen sooner. Once that's locked down, she said she will be working towards opening the first Italian Centre Shop outside Alberta — in Saskatoon.

"In Saskatoon, I think you're pretty good no matter where you are (located)," Spinelli said. "There's easy access, and it's growing quick, quick, quickly. We found a place that's filed for bankruptcy, so we're looking at a spot that's a perfect size for us. We're just waiting (to hear back from) our developers."

Spinelli said part of the idea for eastward expansion came from "really smart" Saskatoon customers who've visited her Edmonton shop for years and asked her for their own store. The other part is the city's growing culinary pedigree, she said. "I've seen that the food scene is really growing there."

Frank Spinelli, Teresa's father, founded the Italian Centre in 1959. Teresa took over in 2001. Since then, she's grown the grocery retailer from just one location in Edmonton's Little Italy to five, including one on Edmonton's south side, one in Edmonton's west end, one in Sherwood Park, and the aforementioned Calgary outpost.

• The City of Edmonton reached a tentative agreement with Civic Service Union 52 on March 14, averting a strike of more than 5,000 employees of the city and Edmonton Public Library that was expected to begin at 11am the same day. A joint statement from council and administration confirmed there will be no labour disruption at this time, meaning city facilities and library branches will remain open. Union members are expected to vote on whether to ratify the deal next week. A union spokesperson said more details will be released after parties have time to "review the fine print." CSU 52 said it is recommending its members accept the offer.
• Civida, the largest affordable home provider in Edmonton, has opened its newest project, Civida Lendrum, which finished construction in October. The 120-unit building, located at 11442 60 Avenue NW, is a redevelopment of two aging social housing complexes. It is now home to more than 300 residents. The project received a combined $15 million from the federal and provincial governments, $3.85 million from the City of Edmonton to buy the properties, and $27.6 million from Civida in financing and land value.
• The Edmonton Elks are considering selling to a private buyer. In a statement on its ongoing ownership review, the club confirmed it has been working with Park Lane, a sports investment bank that managed the sale of the Montreal Alouettes a year ago. The team has been community-owned since its founding in 1949 but has recently experienced years of operating deficits, poor performance, and disappointed fans.
• Police confirmed that a 37-year-old man died after being hit by a Capital Line LRT train at 111 Street and 43 Avenue around 12:40am on March 13. It was reported to police that the man was running west across the street when he was hit by the southbound Capital Line train. At the time, the crossing arms were down and lights were activated. Police are investigating the incident.
• Edmonton Oilers winger Connor Brown scored his first Oilers goal against the Washington Capitals on March 13, contributing to the team's 7-2 win and ending Brown's 72-game "goal drought". He last scored a goal against the Winnipeg Jets on March 24, 2022, while playing for the Ottawa Senators. "It's pretty special for him to get that goal," said winger Zach Hyman, "I think everybody was really happy for him."
• The Alberta government released another draft of the K-6 social studies curriculum, along with a high-level overview of what it proposes for K-12 social studies. The province says it is seeking more public input on the draft, which can be offered through an online feedback form. The draft is the latest in a six-year "battle" of what Alberta children should learn in social studies, CBC reported.

OligomicsTx won a minimum of $155,000 from Startup TNT at the organization's Life Sciences Summit finale on March 14 in Edmonton.

"I'm really honoured. I want to thank everyone," said company co-founder Toshifumi (Toshi) Yakota, who is also a professor of medical genetics at the University of Alberta. His company develops RNA-targeting therapies for rare neuromuscular disorders.

The Life Sciences Investment Summit portion of Startup TNT's three sector summit finales took place at the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute. OligomicsTx beat out fellow locals PulmVita and MACH32; both work on medical devices. Also vying for investment were Calgary's Qualisure Diagnostics and Wave View Imaging, as well as Vancouver's Difinity Solutions.

Investors made side deals with PulmVita and Qualisure for amounts that were not disclosed during the event.

In Calgary, the Cleantech Investment Summit was held at Platform Calgary. There, Edmonton's Aqua-Cell Energy, an alumnus of Propel FastTrack, went up against Calgary's CO2Brew, Connect X, ENA Solution, and MissionNet. The judges went with Connect X.

No Edmonton companies were in the Agri-Food Investment Summit, held at the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina. Calgary's AgGene, Saskatoon's BetterCart Analytics and Rayhawk Technologies, Vancouver's Geco Engineering, and North Vancouver's Maia Farms all pitched. BetterCart Analytics took the win.

All three sector winners are eligible for future investment via the $5 million TNT Capital VC Fund. The $155,000 for OligomicsTx could still grow, as investors will have the option over coming days to increase their investment.

Startup TNT is a group that brings together angel investors who want to see local startups flourish. It was founded in 2019 and runs investment summits three times each year. The organization says it has invested more than $11.5 million in more than 90 companies since it started its summits.

Photo: Toshifumi (Toshi) Yakota reacts to his company, OligomicsTx, winning $50,000 in investment at the March 14 Life Sciences Summit by Startup TNT. (Startup TNT/YouTube)

Correction: This file has been updated to correct the amount OligomicsTx received.

Here are some events happening this weekend in the Edmonton area.

• March 15: State of the Greater Parkland Region starting at 6pm at Heritage Park Hall
• March 15: Hope & Home: Ramadan Gatherings starting at 7pm at the Islamic Family & Social Services Association
• March 15-17: GOBfest at the Alberta Avenue Community Centre
• March 16: Charlotte & The Music-Maker starting at 2:30pm at the Winspear Centre
• March 16: Sakaw Gardens Seedy Saturday starting at 11am at Sakaw Elementary School
• March 17: Collector Con starting at 10am at the Italian Culture Centre
• March 17: The Local Group with Mary Liv and Joel Rohs starting at 6:30pm at The Aviary.

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• March 28: International Women's Day 2024: Impact the Future at Edmonton Unlimited
• April 6: Artist led workshop: Threading through time at the Art Gallery of St. Albert
• April 6: Ben Sures and Eileen Laverty at the Parkview Community League

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.