On Thursday, November 23, the old funeral home was knocked down. The building was purchased by Dan Meaud, who also took possession of the old Ag office next door, and he had planned to get rid of it from the beginning. He is in the process of turning the Ag office into the Willow Branch coffee shop/pizza house, and wanted to have a more open view of the area for guests in the planned patio setting. What exactly will be happening in the space has not been decided.

“The future plans for that site are still to be determined,” Meaud said. “There is nothing to be done there in the foreseeable future. It will likely be a seating area, green space for the time being. I will be spending more time on the other building.”

The funeral home was built in 1949 by Henry Morrison, who had purchased the mortician business from Bert Grant two years before. Morrison also bought the funeral home in Killarney in 1947. He ran the homes for many years, before selling to Garth Nichol in 1986. Eventually, the business was renamed Wheatland and the home in Boissevain fell into disuse.

Meaud is working on developing his new business. At present, he has knocked down some walls in the Ag office to get a good look at the inside. He hopes to plan his layout, get some drawings made and start working on building permits this winter.

He plans to do some minor things like pulling up carpet soon, but will not be doing too much practical work until the spring. He is new to this business and has no intention of rushing things.

“I want to do things right the first time, not rush the project. It is a learning process for myself and I am enjoying the stage of things, the planning and networking, that I am in right now.”

Meaud has been meeting with different suppliers and recently toured a Neapolitan pizza kitchen in Winnipeg to check it out. He is planning to do wood-fire pizza and has already picked out an oven. It will come from California, and will have a three or four week wait time to come. He is comfortable waiting until his building is ready – the oven weighs 3,000 pounds, so the floor must have work to start with, to actually order it.

He has no definite opening date, but is looking to have the restaurant going by late fall 2018. That does not mean Meaud has not been introducing people to the Willow Branch brand. He has a coffee cart and spent the summer building a clientele at different community events like the Farmers’ Markets. He said it was a great summer.

“I was meeting people in the area, we were getting to know each other,” he said. “I met people in the Boissevain area that I wouldn’t know otherwise. It was not just people in Boissevain, but I was able to network with people in Brandon and other areas. It is nice to make new contacts. In that regard, I was able to get the business name out there.”

Next door to the south, REKK Beauty has been adding a new addition to the back of the salon. Proprietor Kamara Sisson said the thought to add a piece came to her in August.

“I was always thinking of the next step, dreaming and planning in my mind,” Sisson explained. “I knew that if I wanted to pursue any of these plans, I needed to provide more space! My husband and I sat down one evening and wrote down a list of pros and cons, hopes, dreams and how we would execute it all. He recently started his own renovation business, so it was a perfect fit that we could do this together.”

The addition is 56ft on the back and they started in September. Though there were a few setbacks due to weather, Sisson said they are happy with where they are at.

There are plans for a tanning bed, spray tans and facials. They are looking at adding a room for space for two people to have pedicures. The waxing room will accommodate not only facial waxing, but also body waxing. There are plans for office space, a larger staff/storage room, and another room Sisson hopes some day will include massage.

She said they will be adding staff as needed, as she has hired an esthetician who will provide services like facials, body and facial waxing, nail services, eyelash extensions, lifts, tints and more. Sisson said they are adding a luxury organic skin care line for their retail area as well, which she is happy to offer.

“I think adding these services are going to compliment very well our already existing hair and nail services. I am excited to have one space where there are so many options for services.”

She added her challenge is to sort out all of what she needs and get it all ordered from the different suppliers.

Sisson never thought in three years of business she would already be outgrowing her space. She gives a lot of credit to the people of Boissevain for supporting local businesses, knowing that without it, she would not be operating.

“I am confident that now is the right time to be expanding,” Sisson explained. “Our community is growing, especially with a lot of middle aged families, and everyone needs their hair cut. I feel like times have changed, people are spending more time on themselves in the beauty department and it’s a good move for me to be investing into a larger space and growing my business.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff