Owner – Sea Grape Gifts – www.seagrapegifts.com

“Wow, it smells nice in here.” That’s the first thing people say when they walk into Sea Grape Gifts.

Alice Louise Phipps named her Caribbean-themed store after an ornamental tropical plant that produces edible grapes. Sea Grape has everything from Haitian hand-made dolls to rum cake to coconut tea. “It’s kind of a cultural exploration,” says Phipps.

Her parents come from the islands of Carriacou and St. Kitts, but Phipps was born and raised in Edmonton and attended French immersion schools. She always wanted her own business, and took action when Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc on her
grandmother’s home in Grenada in 2004.

Phipps decided a specialty store could help the affected island’s economies and spread the diverse Caribbean culture. She opened Sea Grape Gifts in April 2005. She wanted to jump in to running her business full time, but she was too practical. Instead, the 27 year-old works full time at Intuit Canada, and opens Sea Grape from Thursday through Sunday. “My whole family’s been reallysupportive,” she says, explaining that her dad works in the store Thursday and Friday
while she is at Intuit.

Phipps has promoted Sea Grape Gifts by joining a couple of different African American organizations and by taking part in Black History Month, where she sold her products at the Taste of Africa and Caribbean event. She’s also involved with the Caribbean Women’s Network and in the upcoming Cariwest Festival. At first, Phipps was concerned her business wasn’t growing quickly enough. But, a successful entrepreneur friend, told her not to worry, and teased her that it would be a while before she could afford anything but macaroni and cheese. Certainly less hard to swallow when you can sip a soothing cup of cinnamon coffee.