PG Urban Shroomery

PG Urban Shroomery: Growing Exotic Mushrooms in the Heart of Prince George

In a city better known for lumber mills and pulp than for gourmet cuisine, Joshua Halsband has spent nearly two decades proving that Prince George has an appetite for something different. PG Urban Shroomery is exactly what it sounds like -- an urban mushroom growing operation planted in the middle of northern British Columbia's largest city -- and it's become one of the more unlikely food success stories in the region.

From Hobby to Business

Halsband's relationship with mushrooms started in 2007, when he moved to Prince George and began growing them as a hobby. For years, it stayed that way -- a personal fascination with fungi that produced enough to share with friends and neighbours but wasn't anything resembling a commercial operation. The transition from hobbyist to entrepreneur came when he purchased an existing market-based mushroom company from a friend, giving him the infrastructure and customer base to turn his passion into a livelihood.

That origin story matters because it explains the depth of knowledge Halsband brings to his work. By the time he went commercial, he'd already spent years experimenting with species, substrates, and growing conditions in Prince George's specific climate. Northern BC isn't the first place most people would think to grow exotic mushrooms, but Halsband had figured out how to make it work long before he hung out his shingle.

The Growing Operation

The technical side of PG Urban Shroomery is elegantly simple. Halsband grows his mushrooms in sawdust packets inside his warehouse, using freezer tents that create the precise humidity and temperature conditions each species requires. Once the colonized blocks are moved into the fruiting room, mushrooms typically mature within one week to one month, depending on the variety.

It's a small-scale, hands-on approach that prioritizes quality over volume. Every block gets individual attention, and the growing conditions are monitored and adjusted by Halsband himself rather than by automated systems. That kind of personal oversight is what allows a small urban operation to produce mushrooms that compete with -- and often surpass -- the quality of larger commercial growers.

From Warehouse to Nicholson Centre

For years, Halsband operated out of a warehouse on Nicholson Street. The recent move into the Nicholson Centre represents a significant upgrade -- the new location gives PG Urban Shroomery its first proper brick-and-mortar retail presence, complete with a storefront where customers can browse fresh mushrooms, dried products, mushroom seasonings, and grow-your-own mushroom kits.

The next phase of expansion includes plans for a small Northern Health-approved kitchen in the back of the shop. Halsband envisions offering hot prepared foods like mushroom quesadillas, empanadas, and soup -- turning the retail space into a destination where people can not only buy mushrooms but experience them prepared properly.

Why Prince George Needs This

Prince George sits at the junction of the Fraser and Nechako rivers, roughly 800 kilometres north of Vancouver. It's a resource town at its core, and the local food scene has historically reflected that -- practical, hearty, and not particularly adventurous. PG Urban Shroomery represents the kind of small business that gradually shifts a community's food culture, introducing exotic varieties that most Prince George residents would otherwise only encounter in a Vancouver restaurant.

The 5-star rating across 7 reviews tells the story of a business that has earned genuine loyalty. In a city this size, word of mouth travels fast, and Halsband's reputation for quality mushrooms and generous knowledge-sharing has made him a recognized figure in Prince George's growing local food movement.

More Than a Mushroom Farm

What Halsband has built is really a proof of concept: that urban mushroom cultivation can work in northern BC, that there's real demand for gourmet fungi outside of major metropolitan centres, and that a hobby pursued with patience and genuine curiosity can become a business that feeds a community.

You can find PG Urban Shroomery at the Nicholson Centre in Prince George, BC.