Just have to tell you guys about this place. It is a small shop primarily selling candy. The owner, Lani, brings in candy from various countries on the request of her customers. There is quite an assortment from Britain, for instance. I understand she will also take orders for British bacon and pass them along to a butcher she knows (no markup for her). I don't know how British bacon differs from ours, but I gather there are 2 types: gammon and.. regular?

She also carries (more every day) a number of sugar free items, such as SF "suckers", Asher's chocolate bars and bulk chocolate, Ross chocolate bars ($1.69 each), Dutch licorice, Atkins Endulge PB bars, Baja Bob's SF drink mixes, Steel's products (pancake syrup, ketchup, BBQ sauce, maltitol crystals, etc.). She just called to tell me that she will receive a shipment of Torani SF syrups on Friday this week (french vanilla, black cherry, chocolate, caramel and hazelnut). She said she would be pricing the 750 mL bottles at $9.95!!!

Lani is really interested in bringing in low carb items for us and whenever I suggest something, she contacts her suppliers and/or the company's website to see if it is do-able. Unfortunately, she struck out with Diet Rite soda as it is just not available in Canada due to labelling issues. Since she is just one retailer and a small shop at that, she can't afford to make bulk orders normally - BUT she is very competitive in pricing, as you can see from the price of the Torani syrups and Ross bars.. If you get a chance, please consider encouraging her by visiting her shop at 732 Twelfth Street in New West. And if you want to, say "hi" to her from me!

I guess I should add that I am not affiliated with Lani in any way - just happened to drop in to the shop one day and struck up a conversation about low carbing.. Since then, we have exchanged a few phone calls wherein I gave her some websites and suggested a few products she might want to carry. I am a big believer in encouraging local businesses to cater to us low carbers, especially if they are willing to be reasonable in their prices.

If you do go to the shop, let me know what you think when you get a chance!