Since we were doing a Costco run to Comox today our post shopping timing was prefect for a late lunch somewhere. So why  not a visit to Stephen & Carol’s FRANKIEJO’S Bakery Cafe in Courtenay.

We were greeted by Stephen and his daughter Frankie like good old friends. After catching up we took a look at the specials board and decided to share a Grilled Mango Glazed Chicken Sandwich on foccacio with pineapple coconut slaw and siracha mayo. Plus I ordered a cup of todays special soup…Milligitawny.

Wow, was the sandwich delicious and large. Perfect to share. Carol’s Foccacio Bread was excellent. And the soup was very tasty.

I enjoyed a coffee and my favourite girl had a cappuccino. In the afternoon? Yes! Something one should never do in Italy but it’s quite OK in Courtenay.

FRANKIEJO’S coffee is from Coyote Coffee Roastery in PARKSVILLE and it is fabulous. FRANKIEJO’S is selling so much of it that Stephen was off to buy a bigger, newer cappuccino machine.

This is a cute little bakery cafe that we strongly recommend if you are in the Comox Courtenay area. Great owners, delicious food. Check out their Facebook Page for daily specials. Here was today’s

Open Monday to Friday and located at 501 Fourth Street in Courtenay.

Just saying…

Shopping is something we don’t do much anymore, except food and wine shopping, of course. But today we set out to replace our, who knows how old,  washer & dryer. The washer is making very loud protestations in the spin cycle. Sounds like an over revving Indy Car and it’s death is definitely pending. Off we went to the big smoke. That would be Nanaimo.

Stop number one was Home Depot, a store I quite like. I headed directly to the appliance department and quickly found the laundry appliances. I looked and looked. I lingered and lingered hoping to make contact with a sales person. I was ready to buy. But did I encounter a person of knowledge? Nope. I high tailed it out of there and headed to THE BRICK. They too had a sale on and I hung out in their appliance department for a while. They had pretty much the same units as Home Depot and the same prices. Might have bought here if anyone had said Hello. Not a sign of a warm body.

So back in the car thinking I might have better luck at Lowe’s. Good selection, easy to find the appliances but no one working here either. Finally found a guy in a ball cap staring at a computer. Do you know anything about this stuff, I asked. I do, he replied but I’m busy with another customer, be with you in a minute. No sign of said customer. Maybe He was into Virtual Reality. I loitered awhile but ball cap disappeared so I took my leave.

Thought the Hudsons Bay might be worth a try so off we went to the mall. Well, well, well, there were actually two ladies in the department at the desk not far from the washing machines. I sauntered over and asked if either knew anything about the products and one said, She does. She turned out to be a very personable lady named Linda, a newcomer to the area who lives a few blocks from us in FRENCH CREEK.

Linda seemed quite knowledgeable and provided some insight into the Maytag units I was viewing. Their prices, on sale, were the same as the other possible vendors too. She printed off some details for me so I could think about the units and make sure they would fit the space in our home.

So the decision was made. The Bay it is. Can get points on the visa and points on The Bay rewards card too. Well done HUDSON’S BAY! The three other stores lost a really easy sale today because of rather appalling customer service. Amazing what can happen when there is someone to serve you.

Just saying…