Itsa国际传媒檚 a well-known eatery in Kelowna but if yousa国际传媒檝e been there lately, you may have seen that Pearsonsa国际传媒檚 European Deli has a couple of new faces.

After 30 years, founders and former owners Paul and Shan Pearson felt it was time for them to step back and let someone else take the reins at the deli, so they decided to put it on sale.

One of the Pearsonssa国际传媒� sons, Michael, got to talking to one of his neighbours and suggested he should buy the deli.

After taking some time to think about it, Landon and Stephanie Schoales finally talked to the Pearsons, who happened to live four doors down from Stephaniesa国际传媒檚 parents.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a small world, especially here in Kelowna,sa国际传媒� Landon said.

sa国际传媒淲e sat down and had an amazing conversation with them.sa国际传媒�

Stephanie said it felt just right.

sa国际传媒淲e instantly connected in so many ways. Our lives parallel in so many ways, moving from Ontario to here, two small boys, both wanting to take that next step for our families, and it all just seemed so right,sa国际传媒� Stephanie said.

sa国际传媒淓verything felt aligned and special and it just went on from there.sa国际传媒�

The Schoales took over the deli on Dec. 1 and have been operating it since then. They decided to keep the name and the location and much of everything else, including the staff members, which means the deli is still the exact same one that locals already love.

sa国际传媒淥ur future plan is to continue what the Pearsons have been doing for the past 30 years because it works,sa国际传媒� Landon said.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 no reason to change the world here, except for little tweaks here and there on the menu to keep things fresh for the people walking through the door.sa国际传媒�

Stephanie, a Red Seal chef who has appeared on the T.V. show sa国际传媒楥hoppedsa国际传媒� and represented Canada in international competitions, said she is slowly introducing new items to the menu. She said the feedback so far has been positive. She added that another change they want to make is to work with more local vendors and feature local ingredients.

The Pearsons are now enjoying their retirement. Shan said theysa国际传媒檙e still trying to figure it out.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a little weird. Wesa国际传媒檙e having a little bit of trouble filling our days but wesa国际传媒檙e enjoying it,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e just really happy to see them doing as well as they are, especially with the pandemic. Hopefully, all of our regular customers will come and see them and feel just as cozy as they did with us.sa国际传媒�

The Pearsons said the Schoales arensa国际传媒檛 alone in this new adventure: they may not work at the deli anymore but if the new owners need a hand, theysa国际传媒檒l be close by.

READ: Kelowna restaurant sa国际传媒楽alt & Bricksa国际传媒� to be featured on Food Network