‘The writing was on the wall’

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This article was published 10/09/2024 (406 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Colourful gems line Cheryl Wiebe’s desk. The chakra stones are meant for aligning and balancing the body.

Balance is what Wiebe strives for — and now, closing signs bedeck her Winnipeg building.

“It’s not a decision, it’s a position to be put in,” said the owner of Gags Unlimited.

She’s selling everything: the balloons, dunk tanks — and Hamilton House, which has a storied history and has served as the company’s headquarters for the past two years.

Gags Unlimited will end operations Sept. 30. It’s been a nine-year run for Wiebe, and a near-four-decade span before her ownership.

A majority of the company’s sales come from balloons — there’s an entire wall devoted to them — and event rentals. Customers also visit to purchase costumes and accessories for Halloween bashes and themed parties.

The entrepreneur said she “procrastinated” for a long time before pulling the plug.

“The writing was on the wall,” Wiebe said. “The funny thing about people who own their own business, they’ll sell everything they have before they close it.”

Wiebe said she sold a lot of personal items while waiting for better days.

Gags Unlimited opened at 185 Henderson Hwy. in early 2022, though the move was planned the year prior.

Wiebe bought the business when it was located in Osborne Village. While there, the industry underwent a helium shortage — two of three major processing plants in the United States closed for long stretches — and the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.

A developer purchased the Osborne Village lot, among others, to make a new apartment complex.

So Wiebe and her team moved to Hamilton House, which some deem haunted.

Past owners held seances and other experiments to communicate with the dead. More than 600 texts and 400 photographs in the Hamilton Family fonds at the University of Manitoba document the experiences.

Eventually, Wiebe started hosting more events like medium readings, hoping to draw more foot traffic to Gags Unlimited.

Meantime, operating costs were piling up, Wiebe said: a helium tank that once cost $200 to fill is now $1,000. However, a balloon sold at $1.50 has now “maxed out” at $2.95.

“We can’t even sell that balloon comparatively to what we used to,” Wiebe said.

Her business financing changed every time the Bank of Canada raised interest rates, she said. And Gags Unlimited stopped bringing in “mass amounts of costumes” because of pop-ups like Spirit Halloween, Wiebe said.

People shop online or at large retailers that can buy in bulk and offer cheaper pricing — it’s hard to compete, Wiebe said, adding customers are also feeling squeezed financially.

As for the flower shops and niche stores Gags used to supply, “A lot of them are closed,” Wiebe said. “It’s very disappointing to see.”

An attempt at opening a bed and breakfast within Hamilton House fizzled after months of back-and-forth — and fee-paying — with the City of Winnipeg, Wiebe said.

She couldn’t afford to renovate the 124-year-old home to meet government standards.

Wiebe wanted to continue Gags Unlimited’s operations through this summer to service longtime customers’ events. “I think small businesses appreciate every person who walks in the door,” Wiebe said, tearing up.

Meanwhile, she’s preparing to showcase Hamilton House at a Sept. 19, early Halloween event for real estate agents.

Her event business — a van, dunk tanks, portable games, etc. — is listed on Facebook Marketplace for $30,000; Hamilton House is advertised online at $578,000.

Wiebe plans to work for someone else, once loose ends are tied: “I’m happy to not own a business at this point.”

Neighbouring companies have felt the economic pinch, too.

“Since the pandemic, it’s slowed down a lot,” said Zoey Lambert, who works at Elmwood’s First Stop, a clothing store. “It’s good and some days, it’s not.”

Elman Montoya, owner and partner at Elm Pizzeria and Café, has noticed patrons searching for the cheapest menu option and asking about specials.

“(It) is very hard for everybody,” Montoya said.

Seventy per cent of Manitoba small businesses are experiencing below average financial health, according to recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business data.

Seven per cent deem themselves in “critical financial condition.”

“We knew, post-pandemic, that things would be tough, but I don’t think many business owners expected how tough it would be,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB director of legislative affairs for the Prairies and northern Canada.

A lack of consumer spending is the top limitation to Manitoba business growth, the CFIB found in its latest business checkup in August.

Solberg pointed to data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy showing Canadian business insolvencies jumped 41 per cent year-over-year in 2023.

It’s the “tip of the iceberg,” because most enterprises close without filing for bankruptcy, Solberg noted, adding many are still carrying COVID-19 pandemic-era debt.

Kelly Smith and Ashley Barnes, members of the Winnipeg Paranormal Group, hope the newest owner of Hamilton House allows for research and exploration.

“I hope that whoever purchases it embraces the history that it has,” Barnes said.

Five ghost hunting productions were filmed in Hamilton House during Gags Unlimited’s tenure, Wiebe said. She’s experienced her own “interesting things.”

Hamilton House was key in the spiritualism movement, though some question whether Hamilton’s wife doctored some of the encounters and results, Smith and Barnes shared.

“I just want someone here who loves the house like we do,” Wiebe said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com