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Contact: Rod Jerred Phone: 905-345-3824 (ext. 5559) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: nerred@hattonsearch.com BUSINESS Photos by Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver LAIDLAW SURVIVOR CHALLENGE: Laidiaw T ran sp o rt employees recently held a Survivor Challenge at the Oakville W al-M art parking lot to raise money for the C hildren's M iracle Network. Laidiaw em ployees, in clu d in g (above) J o h n D unbar, Shelley D em archi, Cindy C ain and Sheri S trau g h an , spent Friday to Sunday in a school bus. D u n b ar (below) danced in a tutu after challenging the crow d in the parking lot to raise $100 in five m inutes. Food for the weekend was provided by Mr. Sub at T rafalg ar Road and D unda Street. Kazuyoshi Ehara · Special to the Oakville Beaver O akville M ayor Ann M ulvale was on hand for the recent grand opening of H eart of A frica along with stafT m em bers Tommy Adam son (right), O la A delakun (middle) and Tolu O kudolo (left). New specialty store aims to meet diverse needs of growing community By Andrea Lepore SPECIA L T O THR BEAVER Showcase FREE ADMISSION ' * S in ce (Bridal M onday Nov. 3 ,2 0 0 3 6:30 p.m. For cousins Tolu Okudolo and Ola Adelakun, going into business was a family affair. The two women, who are Nigerian by descent and also naturalized British citizens, opened their new store Heart of Africa, after realizing there was a huge gap in the market. This, according to Okudolo, meant a com mute for people in Oakville who required the specialty products they carry, as well as for people interested in trying something different. "When we started our research, we discov ered other cities nearby seemed to be saturated with the same type of store we were planning to offer customers." says Okudolo. "Oakville residents are quite sophisticated, well-travelled and appreciative. After our nephew Tommy suggested we open a store in Oakville, it took us only a week to find the right place." The new store, which officially opened this summer, specializes in African and Afro Caribbean groceries, take-out meals, beauty products and arts and crafts for the growing diverse population of Oakville. The store's take out meals include exotic African dishes and traditional West Indian curry dishes. Groceries include grains and fresh produce from both Africa and the West Indies. Arts and craft include delicate hand made beaded jewelry, African masks, pictures and crafted figurines. The store is also in the process of branching out into authentic ethnic furniture, fabrics and general interior d6cor. Okudolo says Heart of Africa, the first store of its kind in Oakville, offers one-stop shop ping for all kinds of African/Afro Caribbean goods. "We have divided up the store so people can find everything they're looking for. The front is the take out section, with beauty products, arts and crafts and handmade jewellery towards the back of the store," she says. "Our grocery sec tion is in a separate room, which people often don't think is there." Tomiwa (Tommy) Adamson, Okudolo's nephew, also spends time at the store, ensuring individual customer's needs are met. He says the store, aside from catering to the African/Afro Caribbean community, is special ized in the fact that it also tries to cater to every island. "A lot of foods are similar, but often people from different areas use different ingredients in their foods," he says. "So far the response has been really good. People come in and the gen eral comment is 'It's about time something like this came to Oakville'." Aside from Heart of Africa's offerings, the cousins are also starting an umbrella store on the same premises called All About Kids, which specializes in the production of packed lunches to elementary aged children in Oakville schools and camps. The idea came from England, where Okudolo and Adelakun had lived for most of their lives before coming to Canada a few years ago. Instead of bringing in their lunches, chil dren are provided with school meals. "We both have school-aged children, but when we came here it wasn't done. We did a lot of research and came to find that parents wel comed the idea, especially working moms," says Okudolo, All About Kids offers packed lunches con sisting o f the traditional sandwich (bagels, pitas, etc.) with a choice of various toppings (cold meats, cheese, etc.) drinks, snacks and a fruit - all packed and delivered to your child at school. All lunches are allergy free and parents can make individual choices from the menus, or go for the cheaper combos consisting of all items. Vegetarian sandwiches are also avail able. Lunches are individually packed, labeled and personally delivered to children in their respective schools at times convenient to the school concerned. While it took a year to sort out the health requirements involved with such a venture, the cousins have also taken the appropriate cours es in food and nutrition and have equipped themselves with the know how of producing basic, nutritious packed lunches to children attending Oakville are schools. "Many principals and teachers do feel for kids because a lot of them don't get good packed lunches. It's a growing problem and we're trying to fill the void with reasonably priced lunches," says Adelakun. For combo lunches to be delivered to their children, parents can pay as little as $20 per week. On the whole, Okudolo and Adelakun are very happy with the response they have received from customers to date. "I'm amazed at how many people from dif ferent cultures come in. We are quite pleased with the response," says Ola. "Every business owner looks to expand, we're starting off with All About Kids and are hoping the response will be great.. .then we can think about moving LeDome Oakville 1173 North Service Rd. at Trafalgar ENNISCLARE k INTERIORS . ZENON files lawsuit to seek patent protection Oakville-based ZENON Environmental Inc. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against US Filter Corporation. ZENON is seeking damages and an injunction to stop the sale, manufacture and use of US Filter's MemJet and CMF-S products that ZENON alleges infringe on its intellectual property, pro tected by patents issued in the United States. The lawsuit. Case No. 03CV1996 W (JFS), filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that US Filter's MemJet and CMF-S immersed mem brane products infringe ZENON's United States Patent Nos. 6,245,239 and 6,550,747 relating to the use of air cycling to keep membranes clean and its United States Patent No. 6,620 319 relat ing to membrane module configuration. "The growing need for better, faster and cheaper water filtration and waste water management solutions requires a steady stream o f innovation," said Andrew Benedek, Chair and CEO of ZENON. "While we welcome innova tors to the market, ZENON has an obli gation to protect the investment made in our technology by shareholders, partners and customers." Added Lisa Bolton, ZENON General Counsel: "Protecting innovation is something companies across industries do in order to ensure continued innova tion. Our industry is no different. We do not take this step lightly. "But, we are confident in our decision to proceed with this lawsuit and will take action as necessary to protect our intel lectual property." Call Ifaniiza to register at 41(-899-2973 Enter to WIN a Honeymoon Trip to St. Maartens sponsored by Today's Bride Donations for Local Food Bank Accepted at Door Brought to you by W E L C O M E ^ fc V l/A G O N . ltd 1930 L o o k for the E n n is c la r e In te rio rs Fall S a le Flyer in S e le c t e d E d it io n s of T o d a y 's Oakville Beaver www.oakvillebeaver.com