Our Story

Hey, my name is Cari

I grew up in Louis Creek and my parents ran the Louis Creek General Store. In fact our house was attached to the store so it was very much an integral part of our day to day functioning.  Included in this endeavor was a post office, bottle depot and rural mail delivery.  Growing up I learned the skills to work in such an environment, including communication, customer service and flexibility in the work place.  As a teenager my parents opened a fruit stand on the highway frontage (current location of The Local) and I spent many summers working there.  Growing up in Louis Creek meant a one room school for my early primary years, 4-H, rural living, Fall Fairs, camping, lakes and lots of outdoor work.  Eventually the fruit stand sold and the General Store phased in to an antique store.  During that time I was away at University earning a BA and BEd.  I carried on to have a successful teaching career in Kamloops and the stars aligned in 2021 to see me return to my childhood neighbourhood and re-open the shuttered building.

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Making the decision to make such a huge life change was exhilarating.  I am absolutely loving what I am doing.  I had a very clear vision of my why.  As a teacher I was regularly being reminded, challenged, and encouraged to know my why.  So when the time came for transition it was clear I wanted to be in a work environment that was flexible, fun and that I had control over.  It was important for me to have the ability to make immediate change when something wasn't working or needed attention, as well as not interrupt something that was working.  It was abundantly clear as well that I wanted to create an environment that allowed for joy – for me, my staff, artists and customers.