by: Paul Harris
In 1997, Sunworks began with a question: why isn’t there anywhere to get a coffee, read and book, and breathe, on a lazy Sunday afternoon in downtown Red Deer?
That single question — walking past closed doors, craving culture and connection — became the seed of something that would change the culture of the downtown Red Deer, and the city itself. Paul Harris and Terry Warke set out not just to open a shop, but to create a place that people would gravitate to. A place where beauty, creativity, and community would thrive. The first year they started at the local Farmers’ Market.
Then they opened a small shop in 1998 — just 200 square feet on the lower level of Town Centre Mall. The space was decorated with an intent of emulating a stone-hewn, regal castle. It was filled with garden statuary and pottery — just the beginning of something that would grow over time.
The next year they moved to the Capitol Building — a former theatre that had most recently housed a dollar store. With more room to expand, a clearer vision started to form. Soon their offerings expanded: kitchen and housewares, home décor, candles, books, and greeting cards.
About three years later, they renovated the back of their building; turning an old bank vault into a small wine bar. It catered to a small but growing culture crowd, writers, poets, and musicians. The doors opened onto a patio on the laneway. They called it Deluxe. That cozy, intimate space later evolved into The Velvet Olive, before they sold the building in 2023.
After a year or two in the Capitol Building, they purchased the Farthing Block right next door — not to expand Sunworks directly, but to carefully renovate and lease out bays to like-minded businesses. The goal was to support a vibrant downtown that offered diversity and culture. Over a couple of years there became five street facing businesses, offering retail and food.
The next big expansion was to the second floor of the building. They opened The Coconut Room, a place where people could linger, visit, and feel at home.
Eventually, they took over the Farthing Block themselves and transformed it into Tribe, a restaurant that became known for its warmth and food — and for hosting the community after big moments, like the time they celebrated moving Sunworks entirely by hand.
That move — from the Capitol Building into the historic Metropolitan Block around the corner — was a full-circle moment. A human chain of friends, staff, and customers passed every item down Ross Street, to the corner and down Gaetz avenue to the new location — hand-to-hand, shop to shop. When it was done, everyone gathered at Tribe for chili, and sat together longer than it had taken to move.
The Metropolitan Block, built in the early 1900s, had once been home to Metropolitan Hardware. When Paul and Terry bought it, it had fallen into disrepair — pigeons flew through broken roof beams, and it had again become a dollar store.
They fully renovated it, creating two commercial bays on the main floor. Sunworks Living now occupies one; the other is home to Rich and Grounded. There are six residential apartments above, complete with balconies that overlook the street.
Beneath Sunworks, on the lower level, they reopened White Gallery that had been a component of their space in the Capitol Block. They also developed shared studio and public spaces — places where people could work, read, visit over coffee, or rent a small studio for their creative practice.
Throughout, the work was grounded in the ideas of urbanist Jane Jacobs: that vibrant, walkable streets filled with visual interest reduce crime and foster community. Paul and Terry took that to heart — not only activating the laneway with spaces like Deluxe, but also working with the city to help transform Ross Street itself.
Around 12 years ago, while still based on Ross, they partnered with municipal leaders to close off front-street parking and install the Ross Street Patio — a shared space with benches, flowers, patio seating, and a stage for live music. It became a street for people, not just for cars… and brought the outside in and the inside out.
In 2023, having moved Sunworks fully into the Metropolitan Block, Paul and Terry sold the Capitol Building. By then, the Ross Street community had come into its own. The cultural foundation had been laid. The neighborhood no longer needed them — it had become its own vibrant, resilient district. The new owners came with vision and energy to carry the transformation onward.
What ties it all together is this: every space they built was creative. Each one made the most of small footprints and turned overlooked corners into places of purpose. They didn’t just open shops: they responded to community need, one thoughtful, beautiful decision at a time.
Sunworks is more than a business. It’s a living story, shaped by vision, courage, and care.