Desart’s enduring influence on the Village
Desart bids farewell after 47 years of business
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/06/2015 (3952 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Through all the changes and transformations Osborne Village has undergone over the past five decades, there are few constants. Desart is one of them.
Desart, a self-described general store, opened in September 1968 in a neighbourhood that looked a lot different than it does today.
“It wasn’t a village,” owner Donna Lagopoulos recalled. “My husband Basil and I opened (Desart) together. At that point it was a transition area between downtown and the south end of Winnipeg,” she said.
But the features that still make Osborne Village a great place to live today were evident back then.
“It certainly wasn’t a destination place, and probably of questionable reputation, but there were great people here,” Lagopoulos, 70, said.
The vision for Desart when it opened 47 years ago was “well-designed and artistic products that fit through the door,” Lagopoulos said.
“It’s very basic. Because at the time most things that were artistic or well-designed were too expensive,” she said. “Design is form and function. It should be accessible to all price categories. So those were some of the basics of Desart.”
After nearly 50 years in business and many personal and professional accomplishments, Lagopoulos will close down Desart on July 1 following Osborne Village’s Canada Day festivities, an annual event that Lagopoulos helped bring into existence.
Lagopoulos was the first chair of the Osborne Village Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) and was instrumental in promoting its acceptance among local merchants. The first Canada Day celebrations, hosted by the BIZ, in the Village took place on River Avenue, not Osborne Street.
“Canada Day on the street was a huge challenge because it was a main access route between north and south. Initially it was an impossible thing. (The city) couldn’t do that,” Lagopoulos said.
Thanks to the persistence of Lagopoulos and the BIZ, the first Canada Day celebration took place on Osborne Street in 1993 and has remained there since.
As her remaining merchandise and displays filter out of Desart, Lagopoulos said closing down is bittersweet.
“I am very happy because I know where they are going, and they’re going to have good homes and be loved and enjoyed and appreciated,” she said, though she will miss her devoted customers once the doors are shut.
“Over the years I’ve developed nice friendships and relationships, and seeing (my customers), that’s what I am going to miss the most. That context and relating to a person who can just come in and have an exchange.”
Lagopoulos says she will stay busy during retirement, creating art and visiting her grandchildren, while also maintaining a presence in the Village.
“I will still try and be part of what goes on in the Village because in many ways as residents we have to be concerned and aware of what’s happening,” she said.
As for what might fill the hole she leaves in Osborne’s heart, Lagopoulos trusts there is something out there that will suit the ever-changing street.
“Over the years there have been lots of things in the Village. They’ve come and they’ve gone,” she said. “There’s always things that can happen.”