Demolitor’s store closing after 61 years

“I thought I could stay until I was 65 but that’s not going to happen,” says storeowner and operator Wayne Holden.

Wayne started working for his uncles Louis and Earl Demolitor when he was 16 and then bought the store in 1978.

“First I worked for them and eventually took over the store and they worked for me,” says Wayne.

Originally, a church, the store began as a general store selling everything from shoes to produce and didn’t downsize to a convenience store until 1990.

Wayne and his wife Anna have been running the store and post office together until the official closing date of May 15.

Anna will continue to be postmistress from their home at 35 Jordon Lane.

Wayne is happy there will still be a daily connection with the village through the post office.

“I’m really going to miss it,” he says about his role in the centre of the small community, “I knew what I was doing and knew where I was going everyday.”

“The closer it gets the worse I feel,” he says.

He talks awhile of the people who came through the store, the locals and travelers and admits he will miss the people the most.

“It’s quite difficult to make this decision but I didn’t want to push my luck any further,” he says.

He explains that the profit margin was just not there anymore and with the overhead costs, volume of traffic, economic times and old style building, it just didn’t make sense to keep it going.

“The store just didn’t fit the modern market,” says Wayne.

Even through the sad time the couple smiles at each other, talking about the upside, with the freedom to be together outside of the business.

“You know we were driving in the car together this morning when we realized we hadn’t driven in the same car for 16 months,” Anna says with a shake of her head.

Wayne and Anna look at each other again, embarking on what happens next together.