Meet Sharif and Shane, partners who are opening a coffee roastery at 323 Semlin. Pallet Coffee Roasters will feature a full-service coffee shop, a roastery, and a coffee lab, where Sharif looks forward to maintaining their quality and comparing newly sourced coffees. "I really like coffee," said Sharif. "It can show so many flavours. Even coffee from the same lot or farm can taste different from year to year. Just when I think I've tasted everything, something surprises me," said Sharif.

Shane, whose background is construction, used to own a café in Yaletown, and is excited to open a roastery in our commercial area. "This neighourhood is fantastic in terms of cultures and variety. There are so many different and unique shops. I walk around and just keep discovering more. And we received such a warm welcome from the neighbours."

Follow their progress at https://www.facebook.com/palletcoffeeroasters, or on Twitter, https://twitter.com/PalletCoffee.

Meet Don at Olympia Tailors, the oldest operating business in our commercial area. Don's father, Carl who passed away in December, just shy of his 99th birthday, started working in the store in 1934, just five years after arriving in Canada from Italy. Back then, the rent on the store was $5 a month.

"In the 1930s, this area was called Olympia," said Don, "There was an Olympia butcher, an Olympia shoe maker, an Olympia movie theatre. That's where our name came from." Don and his father were part of the original Hastings Chamber of Commerce, the forerunner to the Hastings North Business Improvement Association. "We met every month in the back room at Nina Rosa," said Don. "All the merchants were there, everyone knew each other."

Don loves the high level of community involvement in the area, something his father always valued as well. "My dad sponsored every sports team in the community for years – curling, hockey, baseball. He gave the Boy Scouts the window display every year for fundraising," said Don. "I love being part of this community. My family and I always considered ourselves East Enders. It's about being down to earth. What my dad said is, 'What you see is what you get' – that's us."

Find out more Don and the services offered at Olympia Tailors atwww.olympiatailors.com.