11 Businesses That Will (Probably) Take Over This Sinking Shuswap Lot

A prime piece of real estate on the Trans Canada Highway is on the market, and the possibilities are endless (assuming you’re totally cool putting a business on a lot that is constantly sinking down into the swampy marsh underneath it).

It’s currently home to Wing’s Kitchen and was also home to a black Dodge Neon SRT-4 for years. It actually started sinking down into the pavement, much like the reviews of the restaurant.

You’ve probably seen the signs that it’s for sale through a local realtor. If you go to his website and click on “My Active Listings,” it’s nowhere to be found. I found that quite helpful.

It was originally listed in January 2025 for $1,298,000.00. Now, at the end of March, it’s only $999,999.00. If I were to use terribly illogical math and reasoning, it’s going down in price by $100,000 per month. If I wait another 10 months, I’ll put in an offer for $1 and see what happens.

But Who Will Buy It?

The Shuswap is full of forward-thinking businesspeople with great ideas. It’s also full of the opposite—as is any city. But does it sometimes feel like we have an overabundance of the latter?

It begs the question: which of these two groups will the new owner of this property belong to?

I suppose it’s possible that it could go to someone in a third category:
People who own prime locations on the Trans Canada Highway and do nothing with them.
(Don’t even get me started on the old 7-Eleven lot.)

As a self-proclaimed expert on observing patterns of people in this town, I have some hunches on what will likely come next for this 11,000-square-foot slice of mortgage hell.

Let me list 11 options—10 that are likely to happen, and 1 that I truly believe should happen if we want this city to have any chance at sustainable economic growth.

What Will Probably Go There

Tim Hortons
You think three locations is enough? If you’re reading this, then you’ve been to all three, and you’d go to the fourth one too—so be quiet.

McDonald’s
The new one by Walmart opened and people went to check it out because it was “exciting.” If you want something even more exciting, let’s get another one in there stat.
“New is always better.” —Barney Stinson

Hair Salon
There are not nearly enough places in town to sit in a chair for hours with a tinfoil hat on and get my balayage touched up.

Pharmacy
Despite the numerous places to get your prescriptions filled, it’s still somehow more accessible to get your drugs on the street.

Walk-in Clinic
Every clinic seems to have a different definition of what a walk-in clinic actually is. Some are walk-ins, some are walk-ins that require an appointment (figure that one out). Some are walk-ins only after 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Some are Interior Health walk-in clinics with no hours listed at all.
Let’s add to the confusion here and put in a walk-in clinic that has no website, no phone, and no front door.

Dental Clinic
Are there too many? Not enough? Who cares—you’ll never go anyway. But we could use another generic-looking building that scares children.
(If you are a dentist reading this, please stop singing into my open mouth when the radio comes on. Surprisingly, I don’t enjoy that.)

Gym
As long as our culture keeps shaming people into feeling bad about themselves, there will always be a need for gyms.
Anyone want to make money off of the self-conscious? Surely our 15+ fitness centres can’t hold them all.

Automotive Shop
Please stop trying to fix your car on your own—there are people who overcharge for that, and we don’t have enough of them.
Reminder to top up your headlight fluid.

Dollar Store
Shuswap seniors need places to buy their candies, lawn ornaments, and plastic pet toys for their chihuahuas.
And let’s face it—they’ll never figure out how to order from Temu. Respect your elders.

Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a facility to stink up half the town like an outhouse in the middle of summer? The place behind the thrift store doesn’t quite reach far enough.
I want total fecal coverage, from Tappen to Canoe.

What Should Go There

The Trans Canada Highway is almost 8,000 km long and goes coast to coast. Across the 10 provinces, there are several instances of it going directly through a city centre—and Salmon Arm is one of those examples.

This means that an 11,000-square-foot commercial corner lot directly on the TCH and in the middle of a city centre has endless potential.

This is a rare opportunity. Think big, people!

You want to really inject new life into this city?
You want to add something interesting to increase tourism and spending in our town?
You wanna get more cars to pull over as they pass through on their way to the pulp mill in Kamloops?

Here is the answer:

A Pizza Place

As Michael Scott once said:

“Pizza. Great equalizer. Rich people love pizza. Poor people love pizza. White people love pizza. Black people love pizza.”

Oh, you think we have enough places to get a pie in Salmon Arm?

Maybe you’re right (you’re not), but the issue isn’t quantity—it’s quality.
Well, actually it’s both. Who am I kidding?
We don’t have nearly enough pizza places.

Do not underestimate the number of people who won’t hesitate to shove a warm, gooey ball of dough and sauce into their mouth if presented with the opportunity.
They’re everywhere, by the way—your neighbours, your coworkers, the homeless.

Before you scream at me on the Rant and Rave, I know that we have options for pizza. I know we have: Domino’s, Panago, Pizza Hut, Pizza Pizza, Papa John’s, Little B’s Pizzeria, Beyond the Crust, and Boston Pizza.

If you go a little outside city limits, your options increase to include Rancher’s Pizzeria and Bar, Frankie’s Pizza, Sorrento Pizza and Ice Cream, Lake Life Pizza Scotch Creek, Mel’s Pizza, Sutherland’s Pizzeria, Freshslice Pizza, JJ’s Pizza Plus, Canadian 2 For 1 Pizza, and Jealous Pizza N Donair.

But that’s not good enough.

Back to the One Million Dollar Chunk of Uneven Concrete

A true visionary would look at that lot, look at our population, and come to one conclusion:

Little Caesar’s Pizza.

Will longtime residents point out that there used to be a Little Caesar’s Pizza literally right next to this lot?
I say: irrelevant. We didn't deserve it last time. We failed it.

You think this is the opposite of innovation? You think this idea contradicts every point I made in this article?
Good for you—you paid attention.

Are we going to let someone inject new life into this city with a brilliant business idea that fills a gap in the market?

Or are we going to get Little Caesar’s: Round 2?

I’m pushing for more pizza, because we have a reputation to maintain, people.
Let’s not let a forward-thinking entrepreneur ruin that.

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