Early unwanted retirement

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This article was published 31/12/2021 (1347 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The red and white sign announcing “We Are Retiring” arrived a couple years too soon for the owners of a decades-old antique shop.

Mike and Barb Huen, both 63, planned to run Mike’s General Store until their milestone 65th birthdays. The St. Anne’s Road emporium, decked inside and out with vintage signs and nostalgic items, had garnered its own community.

“The people we’ve met, the stories we could tell, the stuff that’s gone through our hands, it’s been really wonderful,” Mike said.

Regular customers might visit once, twice a week. International travellers seeing family over the holidays would return every December, maybe to view records or old dolls or furniture. People would come to sell family heirlooms, bringing memories with them.

“We’ve had people come in here and cry on our shoulders during break-ups,” Mike said. “There’s been all sorts of things like that. You get to become the arm for many people.”

The public will have until Jan. 21 to visit Mike’s General Store again. COVID-19 gets partial credit for the premature closure: some regulars haven’t been comfortable going out, and there’s been less foot traffic altogether. The Huens haven’t posted many items online — “the store is your showcase,” Mike said — and it hasn’t helped business.

“I always started off as an in-person shop, and I believe in that,” Mike said. “I never wanted to sell out for the sake of the almighty dollar on the internet.”

But, a summertime change to a Winnipeg bylaw has become the final nail in the coffin, according to Mike.

At a June 24 meeting, city council approved a bylaw change requiring antique dealers to obtain used goods dealers’ licences. Antique shops haven’t needed the licences — which now cost $1,377 annually — since 2013.

Additionally, companies with such licences must report every item they acquire to the Winnipeg Police Service. This includes getting clients’ personal information, taking pictures of the goods, and tracking the date, time and price of each purchase.

Dealers must keep items for at least 15 days and comply with regular inspections from officers.

“It’s just way too many demands for a shop like us,” Barb said. “It’s a lot of extra work that we have to do, and we just don’t want to do that at this time in our lives.”

The Winnipeg Police Service requested antique shops obtain the licenses to prevent businesses from selling stolen phones and computers, among other items, according to a report to city council in June.

Mike’s General Store doesn’t sell electronics, Barb said.

“If we were younger, we could move out (of the city), but at our age, we don’t want to start again,” she said.

Others in the industry have expressed confusion about the changes. Mike said he was informed in September that he’d have to comply, and that he had until Jan. 21 to get a license.

Brian Tkachyk, the owner of Brian’s Corner Antiques & Thrift, said he got a letter “a few weeks ago” and doesn’t know when he needs a license by.

“I’m still not sure (about) exactly everything behind it,” Tkachyk said. “The stuff that I am hearing, it sounds quite unreasonable for an antique shop to operate that way.”

Tkachyk said he sent a copy of the letter to his lawyer. He doesn’t plan on getting the license, because it could force a permanent “closed” sign on his building, between the cost and new protocols. He could also be shut down for non-compliance.

“Either way, they’re going to put me out of business if they keep pushing this,” he said.

Tony Costa, who’s helping his father run Johnston Terminal Antique Mall, said Thursday he was still reviewing the changes.

He was in the process of applying for a permit but didn’t know when its deadline was.

The antique shop, located in The Forks, acquires most of its goods from over 30 vendors. Costa can mark down the vendors’ information when entering each new purchase, but vendors buy from many sources, including Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and auction sales, he said.

“There’s a lot of sources out there, so how can you possible keep track of all that stuff? It’s almost impossible,” Costa said.

Clients already fill out a form and present photo ID when they sell to Johnston Terminal Antique Mall. People with stolen goods would likely walk out the door before presenting identification, if workers haven’t already refused them, Costa said.

“A lot of (people) come in and it’s like, ‘No, I’m not buying your stuff because I don’t think it’s yours.’ And you can just tell by the person’s demeanour,” Costa said, adding he understands why the city wants to track items.

For Mike, it’s the end of “the best career I could’ve ever asked for.”

What began as a bottle collection when he was 12 years old led to a 42-year run selling antiques. In the late ’70s, he sold soda bottles from out-of-business brands, along with old signs and license plates.

For a year, he spent his weeks hunting yard sales and his weekends selling items. He opened his first shop, at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Valour Road, in 1979. He briefly moved to a bigger place on Marion Street before buying the St. Anne’s Road spot in the fall of 1982.

“I’m going to miss it. I’ll miss the people, I’ll miss the finding,” Mike said.

A recent health scare, and losing people close to him, has contributed to the decision to retire. He and Barb — whom he met at the shop — are working 60-hour weeks to keep the business going, he said.

Once the store closes in January, the Huens will sell items on a new website and eBay until everything’s gone. They’ll have bigger sales in spring and summer and plan to put their building up for sale in the new year, Mike said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com