Discovery Motorsports promises to convert fuel into pure entertainment
DISCOVERY MOTORSPORTS
If it burns fuel, Steve Dillabough likes it — and there’s a good chance his business, Discovery Motorsports, sells it.
Dillabough, who grew up in Yorkton, started working in a motorsports store at the age of 14 and never left the industry. He was selling cars at 18 and running a Ford dealership at 25. In 2008, he began selling motorcycles, snowmobiles and ATVs in addition to cars.
Last month, he expanded Discovery Motorsports, which had stores in Humboldt and Yorkton, into Saskatoon.
“Owning a product that we sell should be the least disruptive thing in your life,” Dillabough said, noting that a Saskatoon location makes it easier for customers to shop and have their vehicles serviced.
“I’ve never met anybody that said, ‘Hey, just wait, today I think I need more stress.’ ”
Discovery Motorsports opened its Saskatoon location — the third in the chain — on July 15. According to Dillabough, it is the city’s only full-line Polaris dealership. That means if the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company makes it, Dillabough can stock it — everything from Polaris-branded snowmobiles to franchises such as Victory and Indian motorcycles.
Dillabough said he is extremely excited about selling Indian bikes — which have been made and ridden since 1901. The motorcycles are difficult to find in Canada — until recently, the country had only six licensed dealers. Discovery’s Saskatoon store makes it seven.
He’s also looking forward to bringing in the Polaris Slingshot, an unusual three-wheeled road vehicle.
“It looks like a Batmobile,” he said. “When I got out of it, I was shaky, it was so exciting.”
Customers seem to think so, too. Since Discovery Motorsports opened on Faithfull Avenue, traffic has been steady, Dillabough said.
“Business has been better than we expected,” he said. “Better than we hoped for.”
MACKIE PHYSIOTHERAPY
Business has been good for D’Arcy Mackie and her husband Blaine. The couple, who have owned and operated Mackie Physiotherapy since 2002, have been so busy that the only solution was to expand.
“We’re trying to keep up so people don’t have to wait to get in,” said D’Arcy, who handles the management side of the operation while her husband works as a physiotherapist.
“We’re trying to minimize the wait list, and also trying to offer more services.”
Mackie Physiotherapy, which reopened July 31, now boasts a roughly 1,700-square-foot addition, which includes a new strength training gym and three treatment rooms. The Arlington Avenue clinic has also been remodelled, to match the look of the expansion.
“We’ve hired another therapist, starting in August, and possibly one in November,” Mackie said. Until recently, clients had to wait a week to get an appointment. She hopes the new facilities and employees will cut that down to 24 hours or less.
The couple also decided to augment their core services — physiotherapy and rehabilitation — with acupuncture and massage. According to Mackie, the additions reflect changes in the way people think about their health and quality of life.
“I think there is a larger need for it, for sure,” she said. “People are wanting to improve their health and prevent injuries — just making their health a priority.”
Mackie said she hopes her clients, who range in age from six months to 90 or more years old, benefit from the expanded clinic — and that she and her husband do, too.
“We can offer more services,” she said. “But (the expansion) will also allow us to spend more time on the business, rather than in the business.”