0

Popular outdoor sports business destroyed by fire, owner remains hopeful

Innerspace Watersports was among businesses lost to fire along Harvey Ave.

A business owner who lost his entire stock, fixtures and equipment, as well as 13 years of memories in the Blue Heights commercial park fire in the early hours of Tuesday, is trying to be philosophical about things.

He’s also hoping Kelowna customers continue to support his Vernon branch.

Chad Edwards, the owner operator of Innerspace Watersports Inc., was in the process of flipping into his spring season with a store filled with kayaks, paddleboards, life jackets, scuba and snorkeling gear. In the winter months he focuses on snow biking and avalanche safety equipment.

“We started the store from scratch… toughed out the collapse of the market in 2008/09, we’ve been through Kelowna fires, Vernon fires, COVID, the tourism [slump], the highway shut downs, and when you think it couldn’t get much worse something like this falls in your lap, “ Edwards told Kelowna10.

But he’s looking at the positives, noting no one was hurt and he’ll ensure all his staff have a job in the Vernon branch.

“As the owner, I’ll take a step back and see what the next psychological way for me is to deal with it,” Edwards said. “I realize I cannot change [what happened] … so I need to take the information and use it as some type of motivation to push better, farther or harder … or try to learn to slow down in life and maybe enjoy some of the things we do.”

Edwards highlighted the fact his Vernon store is 40 years old, which is a rarity in specialty sporting goods retail, and he’ll now have even more staff to offer one-on-one service to customers there. His business model has always been the antithesis of e-commerce.

“We’re not going anywhere. Grab that cup of coffee, hit the highway, and enjoy the beautiful drive along Lake Country and come see us. That’s what our business is all about, promoting the area of recreation."

He can’t say if or when he’ll be able to reopen in Kelowna, in part because his suppliers are maxed out on product and there isn’t a large enough alternative space that’s affordable for him to offer the massive selection he’s known for.

However, he’s remaining open-minded about the future.

“It was the community that brought us to Kelowna the first time and maybe the community will bring us back once again.”

Published 2022-02-16 by Glenn Hicks

Get a fresh daily look

See what’s happening in and around our city, and the people who call it home.

Our newsroom abides by the RTNDA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and follows the Canadian Press Stylebook. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to send us a news tip, please contact us.

Kelowna10 is division of Pattison Media, and strives to achieve the highest ethical standards in all that we do.