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Antigonish’s 5¢ to $1 store isn’t just a retail outlet—it’s a community pillar with eight decades of history

Stephen Jewkeshas a vivid memory of that February night when he was in his late teens, standing outside and watching flames engulf his father’s store in Antigonish, NS. “I can still smell it,” he says, over 30 years later. “We used to sell house paint, and when it exploded, it shot a plume of fire into the sky.” The 1981 fire, which virtually destroyed the 5¢ to $1 store, could have been an appropriate symbol for the end of an era. It had been a fixture on Main Street since 1934, but the town had changed dramatically over the years, as had people’s shopping habits. Independent family-owned businesses across Atlantic Canada were thinning out. But instead of marking the store’s demise, the blaze came to represent its resilience as a local institution. The 5¢ to $1 store was rebuilt on its original foundations, and reopened within a year. Its new sign bore the image of a phoenix rising from the ashes—a symbol of resurrection still displayed prominently on the building. Stephen and his brother Lloyd, the current owners, know this type of general-merchandise outlet is something of an anachronism in today’s retail landscape. But they believe that as long as it evolves—while also staying true to its community roots—the 5¢ to $1 store will continue to thrive.

That’s why, despite that it’s no longer a dollar store, the original name stuck. “We have this conversation now and again because the name is from another era,” says Lloyd. “But then again, it’s our brand. People know us as the 5¢ to $1. It’s just us, it’s who we are.”

Social capital

If you’re in Antigonish, and you need a passport photo taken, fabric for a sewing project, a book by a Nova Scotian author, or virtually any item of kitchenware or clothing, the 5¢ to $1 is the place to go. The Jewkes brothers spend a lot of time here, greeting customers by name and chatting with employees. Both men pursued other careers outside Nova Scotia—Stephen in geology, which took him all over Canada, and Lloyd in Alberta’s land development and construction industries—but this is where they learned about working to build something of lasting value. It’s clear the brothers take inspiration from the entrepreneurial chutzpah of their grandfather, the original Lloyd Jewkes, who started the store in 1934. He was from the Jewkes clan that settled in Springhill, NS. They were originally miners, but a branch of the family clambered up into the merchant class, operating a general store in Springhill, NS known as Jewkes Brothers. But Lloyd Sr. opted to launch out on his own, and Antigonish, a small commercial centre with a university, and surrounded by farms, seemed a suitable place to open up shop. He eventually passed the store on to his son, Creighton, father of the current owners. Born in 1923, Creighton served overseas in the Second World War and went into the family business after coming back. But despite his sense of duty, Creighton lacked the hands-on managerial skills required for a small enterprise. “He was a big-picture type of person, my dad,” recalls Lloyd. “I think for a few years the business was posting some losses.” Creighton eventually brought in Bob James, a hard-nosed Newfoundlander, to deal with the nitty-gritty, and this helped ensure the store’s success through the 1970s and 1980s. Creighton’s wife Sheila, now 90, recalls being recruited to do bookkeeping after the death of Lloyd Sr. in 1958. “Creighton didn’t have time. He figured I’d be smarter on that kind of stuff,” she says.

Creighton’s strengths lay more in building up social capital among Antigonish residents, and he was involved in many charitable efforts and groups, including town council and the board of governors at St. Francis Xavier University. He also raised money for the regional hospital and established a rehab facility for alcoholics called Recovery House. It may seem quaint now, but having this kind of public persona was part of what it meant to be a prominent small-town businessman, and Creighton excelled at it. “His generosity and his involvement in the community came back in business,” says Stephen. “People would acknowledge and support him, and shop here. There was a correlation there, and there still is.”

Niche products, family pride

The 5¢ to $1 was originally conceived as an economical alternative to pricey department stores, but competition got tougher with the advent of what Lloyd calls “mallification.” Big-box outlets now offer seductively low prices. For a small store, merely putting staple items on the shelves no longer cuts it. “You have to search out those niche products you’re not going to get killed on by retailers that are, in some cases, selling for less than cost,” says Lloyd. Inside the store, Lloyd leads the way down to the basement stockroom, where products are piled high on shelves. With limited space for inventory, things have to move out quickly. The store can’t accommodate any retail deadwood. Product lines not earning their keep have to be culled. They stopped selling sewing patterns, for example, when they realized some of the stock had been around for years. Choosing exactly what to carry can be a tough decision. Not so very long ago, buying goods involved meeting suppliers in person. “We would go to Montreal in the ‘80s, twice a year,” says Lloyd. “You’d be going to a children’s wear company, and they’d take you out on the floor. They had manufacturing then. But that’s mostly gone now.” Now they go on buying trips to Toronto, but everything’s changed. These days much of what we consume is produced in Asia, and the distributors are largely based online. Making an effort to carry locally produced goods is one way their store distinguishes itself. “It’s money that circulates in the community,” Lloyd says, before rhyming off local brands they carry such as Paderno, Ganong, Spice of Life natural products and Stanfield’s.

By Sheila’s account, after the 1981 fire, there wasn’t enough insurance to cover a rebuild, but they rebuilt anyway. Lloyd says it’s impossible to know what motivates a small business owner to persist in the face of tough odds, but he understands the impulse. There’s family pride at stake, but there’s also something larger—a sense of having a stake in the community. It’s an investment that has held its value over three generations.

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