Toronto Businesses

Birds & Beans Cafe, 2413 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Mimico-by-the-Lake BIA, Etobicoke

CanClone Services, 3267 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Long Branch BIA, Etobicoke

Q&A with Candi McNeil, President of CanClone, and Jim McNeil, Owner.

What have you learned?

Follow up is of most importance. Don’t leave any untied ends and get all questions answered. When the ball is in your court, act immediately.

What has been the response from employees, customers, fellow business owners and the community?

Unfortunately, green energy is political issue in Ontario, but we have found that most younger people (under 40), are extremely supportive and have great interest in it. Reaction to our project is building over time as we form relationships with other green businesses and organizations.

What have been the tangible results?

We have been very happy with the results – even during the winter we are generating substantial kilowatts.  The output promised by our solar panel provider was right on target. Our investment is creating an approximate 10% return and in today’s markets- that’s fantastic!!

What would you do differently if you did the project again?

Everything went according to plan and I don’t think that we would do anything essentially different if we did it again. We would have liked more panels but finances did not allow at this time.

Planet Traveller, Kensington Market BIA