“Thanks for being downtown”: Gerald Cote, the owner of Squamish Freshii, often hears this grateful statement from guests after they enjoy a healthy meal at Freshii.
Freshii on 2nd Avenue in Downtown Squamish opened last December after serving locals at Freshii Garibaldi Village since 2017. While the Garibaldi store continues to serve the community, Cote is grateful and glad he decided to open a second location. “It helps connect us to the rest of the community,” he said.
Cote thinks Squamish is a wonderful community and he’s grateful for the support he has had and continues to have at both Freshii locations. He looks forward to serving more people as the downtown core grows. Cote said, “It was really sad when Zepher’s closed down, it was a wonderful place to eat.” “With it gone, it left fewer places for eating a quick healthy meal.” “We hope we can fill that demand of quick healthier meals in Downtown Squamish.”
With downtown growing, Gerald sensed a business opportunity when he repeatedly heard from many guests that they loved the food but found driving from Downtown to Garibaldi Village a little too far for lunch. They wished they had a closer location.
Prior to moving to Squamish, Cote, a Professional Ballroom dancer of 25 years, ran a very successful dance studio in Alberta. When it was time for change, he sold the studio and moved with his wife Robin and their 2-year-old child, Ryker, to be closer to Robin’s family. As someone with a dance career, he had to stay fit, and eating at Freshii fit the lifestyle.
In fact, Cote says he was eating at Freshii so much that owning a franchise seemed like a great idea. The big appeal for Cote and his guests is the fact that Freshii melds two seemingly contradictory ideas together: Food that is fast but fresh and healthier.
He says Freshii’s main goal is to offer healthier, quick and convenient food at an affordable price, which is definitely challenging in today’s economy but “we seem to do a pretty good job at it” he said. Cote also believes Freshii is a perfect fit for Squamish. It closely aligns with our lifestyle. “Squamish offers an incredible lifestyle with mountain biking, hiking, skiing. climbing etc… and fit people need healthier food to keep going.”
Freshii offers a wide selection of healthier meals and savory smoothies. They offer dietary options for food allergies, celiac, vegan, vegetarian. All meals have the option of adding chicken, beef, falafel, tofu or really anything the guest likes. In fact, guests can completely create their own meal with all the ingredients they’ve come to love. Like their mural on their 2nd Avenue windows says: “Freshii Fuels Your Body For All You Do.”
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