It's true. Penticton's much celebrated Peach concession stand is now under new proprietorship, for at least the next three years.
That message was first relayed Sunday evening in a poignant post on the Peach's own Facebook account, and Monday afternoon confirmed in a City of Penticton media release.
"The decision to award the Peach concession to a new tenant for 2022 followed the City’s public Request for Proposal Process (RFP), which attracted a total of three bids, with the successful bid going to the highest bidder and best proposal," said the release.
The document also made mention of the local connections of the new operating group -- the Calgary-based "Family Squeezed Lemonade" -- and emphasized that the selection process was "fair and transparent."
"For 2022," it said, "there were three submissions for the Peach concession, with each application evaluated by a committee, with a decision based on the following four criteria -- business plan, experience, products and pricing and license fee. Based on these criteria, the successful proponent (the City's term for project bidders) was Family Squeezed Lemonade."
Nevertheless, the news was hard to swallow for many. Longtime Peach proprietors Diana and Dustin Sterling gave the concession a life of its own, on social media and in person through its many creative alter-egos.
In addition, the Sterlings run a trio of other popular, summery Penticton businesses, all of which employ a number of local kids and raise the profile of the city. And they're rightfully seen as consistently giving back to the community.
And Monday, none of that had gone unnoticed. As of dinner hour, the original Peach Facebook post had massed 1,300 reactions and 700-plus comments, most of which expressed extreme negativity.
And over at Change.org, a petition suggesting the Peach should always remain a peach and that local businesses should be owned by local business owners has now attracted a whopping 3,000 signatures.
So we reached out to the new proprietors and the City. And something we discovered right way is that the Peach isn't about to become a kumquat. Or anything else for that matter.
"There are a lot of people saying the Peach has been stolen," said Family Squeezed Lemonade co-owner Jennifer Andrew, who's still gob-smacked over all the vitriol the announcement stirred up.
"But it hasn't. The Peach is owned by Penticton. It's always and forever the Peach. It's the baby of the City of Penticton, and it's only every going to be the Peach."
City of Penticton director of finance and administration Angela Campbell clarified.
"It says nothing in the contract that they have to maintain the persona of the Peach," she said. "However, they would not be allowed to change the structure of the building without City approval. And there's no anticipation that any of the proponents would change anything in the physical façade of the Peach."
We next asked both if they had thoughts for the thousands of locals who Monday felt justified writing scorching Facebook comments or signing petitions.
Up first was the City's Campbell, who admitted she too felt there was "a successful business in that location," before again accentuating that the process was "fair and transparent."
"We do rely on a fair and transparent process," she said. "Our whole Request For Proposal process is designed around making it fair for everyone. I would say the current proponent actually has a leg up on the others because they've operated it before.
"But the City doesn't like to have bias built in. That's why we have a committee of multiple people. We all score separately and then those scores are combined to determine who the successful proponent is. We're looking for the very best service for the community."
FSL's Andrew, meanwhile, said she hopes people understand how the process works.
"It's not a gimme," she said. "and we come with really good intentions. We're certainly not here to stir anything up, and I think having proper information on how it happened and why it happened is vital."
As for the "local family" reference from the City media release ("The Peach...will be opened by a local family, under the ownership of Family Squeezed Lemonade"), that seems to check out at least on a regional basis.
"Being local wasn't a requirement of being awarded the bid," said Andrew, "However, it is true. We do have local connections."
According to Andrew, FSL last year won a bid to operate a food truck in Kelowna, to be run by familial cousins living there. The Peach, meanwhile, will be run by Andrew's sister-in-law and her husband, who also live in Kelowna.
So, Okanagan yes, but not quite Penticton.
Still, she wants to remind Pentictonites that not all business owners and operators are fully local.
"If you think of all the businesses that make Penticton what it is, they don’t all live there," she said. "Sometimes products and services do come from other places."
Angela Campbell added that awarding contracts purely locally isn’t always in the best interest of the City.
"We're also trying to attract business to the City of Penticton" she said. "So we don't want to discourage outside proponents from bidding on our contracts. The company coming in is based in Alberta but they operate in BC."
When the Peach reopens for 2022, likely during the May long weekend, Andrew said customers can expect a new roster of treats.
"We plan to showcase Okanagan fruit," she said, "So you'll be seeing our famous family squeezed lemonade with a focus on the flavours of the Okanagan. So, peach, BC cherry, lavender, that kind of thing."
Also on the way are "custom gourmet ice pops," featuring flavours native to the Okanagan, and cookie dough wrapped up in burritos and other "funky" cover-ups.
"We'll also do ice cream that has fresh fruit infused on the spot," she added.
New menu or not, Johann Wessels remains unconvinced the decision was a wise one. Wessels, a renowned artist living on the Naramata Bench, is the talent behind the majority of artwork and faces to appear on the Peach over the course of the past three-plus years, including the "Sn’pinktn" mini-mural that's there today.
"I'm kind of baffled by it -- how the City would mess with a formula that had been working so well," he said. "Diana and her team are such creative people, and they look at things in such a wonderful way. Why would anyone want to change that?
"And we were considering all kinds of new projects at the Peach for later this year. That no longer seems to be happening."
But the management changeover is happening, and Jennifer Andrew is thankful for what she calls a "three-year guardianship."
As for the continual artsy facelifts and cheeky social media presence, she's unsure, possibly swayed by Monday's reaction.
"I think it's amazing they (the Stirlings) created such a wonderful experience," she said. "and if people love it (the art/the posts), then we're here to please. But if people see us as taking a good idea, then we don’t want to do that.
"We'll have to measure the temperature."
Peach spokesperson Diana Stirling remained unavailable for comment throughout Monday.
