Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 31/99) - Yellowknife foto source is putting more in its downtown frame.

Owner Bob Wilson has moved the business' Extra Foods lab operations into the Franklin Avenue location. The Extra Foods location was closed March 19.

To accommodate the change, Wilson is spending about $30,000 to expand the downtown location. That means about 28 square metres (300 square feet) of new space.

The new space takes up part of the defunct GW Business Products which was operating next door.

"We were finding it difficult, in a grocery store environment, to convince people we are a quality outlet," Wilson said.

As well, he added, having the lab downtown will mean quicker response time for customers and commercial clients, he said.

"So we added space, renovated, and built the lab at the back of the downtown space."

Wilson said having everything downtown will eliminate dust problems associated with the open environment at the food store.

"We have zero tolerance for dust."

Wilson also said combining the two operations will mean downsizing the staff by two people. The business employs six to eight people, depending on the season.

Asked about the condition of the city's economy, Wilson said current conditions are the most "severe" he has seen in about 15 years.

But, he adds, "our business has held."

Much of the downturn was felt at the Extra Foods location, he said. YK foto source opened up the Frame Lake location seven years ago. Prior to opening the photo lab, YK foto shipped film south for processing.

Though the economy has changed, Wilson remains optimistic.

He says division has been something of a "private Y2K" for the western territory.

But business will continue and uncertainties will subside, he said.

On revitalizing the downtown area, Wilson believes downtown is worth saving.

But instead of focusing on making Franklin Avenue a retail area people enjoy, he said Franklin Avenue has been turned into a four-lane highway to other parts of the city.

Wilson has owned Yk foto source since 1983. He bought the business from Gerry Reimann who had bought out partner Henry Busse.

Originally, their photo shop was set up in Old Town but was then moved to Franklin Avenue. The Bromley building has been home to the business for the past 35 years, said Wilson.

"I worked for Gerry Reimann as a student in high school," Wilson said.

And on some occasions, Wilson said he finds himself serving customers that Busse served.

Hans Heinrich Maximilian (Henry) Busse, one of the North's most famous and prolific photographers -- his collection at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre includes about 30,000 photos -- died in a plane crash in the Nahanni in 1962.