Group offering incentives to visit downtown Sudbury
Downtown Sudbury is offering an incentive gift card program to get people out shopping and eating downtown.
The business improvement association said the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted many businesses and hope the program gives people a good reason to visit the downtown core.
"What that means is if you buy a $100 gift card, we are going to give you $125," said Kyle Marcus, the managing director of Downtown Sudbury. "If you buy a $200 gift card we are going to give you $250 … and so on."
Thrive Health Food Essentials is a downtown retailer taking part in the gift card program. The co-owner said people are welcoming the idea of getting out shopping and dining again.
"You needed something to bring life back into the area," said Irene Andruch co-owner of Thrive Health Food Essentials. "And with summer and the patios coming out, you can feel it blossoming and thriving and something like this will get people hopefully back shopping downtown."
Peppi Panini Lounge and Bar said it has increased its hours in response to reopening and the owners hope people consider downtown as an outing.
"During COVID, we actually took a risk," said Julia Bertin, co-owner of Peppi Panini Lounge and Bar. "We spent money during COVID to grow our business because we knew that after COVID, people would want to come out, eat (and) have a great time."
In the inaugural week of the gift card program, purchasers will be eligible for a draw for a $750 shopping spree at participating businesses. The cards can be purchased online on Downtown Sudbury's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.