It was a very tough decision but the owners of Bites and Bikes, located in the Badlands Community Facility, have decided to close up shop after nearly five years in the Drumheller Valley, as of Thursday, December 11th.
For owners Natalie Lum and Lana Phillips, it was a tough decision to move on from their business. “We moved here to start this business and have been appreciative of how welcoming the community was,”comments Phillips. It was a very thoughtful decision, and a hard decision to close, but we know it’s the right decision for us. We know there are a lot of other folks serving great food, and maybe somebody else will take the (opportunity) with bikes. We are around here as community members. We are going keep doing great work at Arena Bites.” Lana will also continue working with Travel Drumheller involved with a potential local transportation initiative.
Many memories have been made with the business in the nearly five years of operation and Lum shares that it is tough to pinpoint just one memorable moment. “That’s a really tough one. Five years has a lot of memories. I would say it is the community coming and enjoying our food, or the bikes, and coming back with a bigger smile than they thought they would. Having that impact on our own community, and those coming to explore Drumheller, has been what has really stood out for myself.”
There have been a number of questions on if the couple plans to move from our community and Phillips shares they plan to stay in Drumheller for now. “We are not rushing away. We moved here to start a business and the community has welcomed us. We still have things on the go. To be fair, we are looking forward to a summer where we can experience more of (Drumheller) because we aren’t working all summer. We are around and still looking forward to being part of the community.”
The couple still operates Arena Bites at the Memorial Arena, which is open during minor hockey and Drumheller Dragons games so Lum shares that if you are looking for some of her creations, they will have them there.
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