Ballinafad Farm Market and Variety – the only store in the village – is closing at the end of August.
The building on Trafalgar Road is set to be demolished, making way for a new commercial building, according to Bruce Kim, who has been running the store with his wife and adult son since his older brother retired four years ago.
Items in the store will be discounted, Kim said. He’s hoping to have zero inventory by mid-August.
“I really appreciate these people. 99.9 percent are kind,” he said of the customers. “It is a really good neighbourhood.”
He hopes to take over another convenience store in Brantford.
Customer Kelly Lorsch said “they will be sorely missed.”
Her daughter Casey, 27, was floored by the news.
“This is my store. This is where I get all my stuff. What am I going to do?” she said, as her mom interjected that Casey doesn’t drive and this is the only place within walking distance of their home.
“I do everything here, I use their ATM - it’s my everything place. He even used to rent us movies,” Casey said.
Meanwhile, Brandon Villeneuve of Hillsburgh, who stopped at the store on his way home from work, said that having to drive to amenities is “the cost of living in a small town,” in his view.
However, he did say that if “it’s been here a while, it would be a shame to see it close.”
Beatrice Sharkey was browsing the plant selection outside the store when she got the news.
“That is so sad,” she said.
“We always come here for our plants,” added her husband Kevin.
“They always have great flowers. We come here from Georgetown specifically for the plants for over a decade now. They (the Kims) are a hard-working family. We wish them well.”
The property owner, Jay Modi, confirmed that the store at 14303 Trafalgar Rd. will be demolished.
He plans to have new retail options open in its place by October.
“We are just trying to make it better for the community. We want it to be a place where community members can get the essentials. We want to make everyone happy,” Modi said.
