Upcoming renovations to 226 Main Street in Niverville will open the door to a significant business expansion. The Niverville Community General Store, owned by Chuck and Amy Allen, are getting ready to move in.
The Allens bought the store, currently located at 10 Cedar Drive, from the previous owners in February 2023, maintaining the existing business model. The boutique-style store aims for a small-town feel and offers a wide variety of local and Canadian-made gifts, small-batch health and beauty items, gourmet chocolates and other treats, and tropical plants and plant pots, just to name a few of their offerings.
“We are proud to be the only store in Manitoba to offer the famous Lemon Squares out of Vancouver,” says Chuck. “Everyone loves Utoffea, which is made here in Manitoba. SOAK Bath Co soaps, also made here in Niverville, are unbelievably good. I’m proud to be great friends with the folks behind Coal and Canary. We love having plants and flowers available.”
Chuck has also been able to feature his line of leatherwork, called Earth and Hide. His onsite workshop highlights the therapeutic benefit of craftwork.
Craft practices and making items by hand typically involves an ethos of cultural sensitivity and producing goods in a socially conscious manner. This business philosophy forms the basis of what the Allens want to do.
“One of the biggest challenges has been our uncompromising dedication to Canadian-made quality,” he says. “Some stores sell imported pieces for a lower price and still get higher profit margins. Sometimes these imported pieces are even made to look like local or small-batch pieces when they’re really just mass-produced stuff. It feels deceptive to me and I refuse to let higher margins dictate a compromise in our values.”
While it may sound counterintuitive to some, the Allens have always been passionate about inviting people to come spend time in the store even without the expectation of spending money.
They say that the connection between a business and people is more important than making sales.
“You can buy stuff anywhere, but when there’s a personal connection to the work, when there’s meaning behind it, it makes it that much more special,” Chuck adds. “As a business, we obviously need to make money to keep going, but we hope to serve people through community connection. We believe that if we can truly serve people in the way they need, the sales will take care of themselves.”
The Allens are excited for the upcoming change in location, which is expected to give them a boost in a couple of key respects.
First of all, the new location at 226 Main Street will come with the potential for increased foot traffic. They hope it will offer customers a fresh perspective on their business and enable more people to just drop by.
“I brought in a coffee maker and a couch and chair,” Chuck says. “I was hoping people would come in and have a coffee and tell stories. But so far most people, except for some friends, just come in to shop—in a store, imagine that?” Chuck says with a smile. “In the new space, we hope to double down on the connection with a coffee bar and feature the sitting area prominently.”
The second key boost is simple: the new location will give them significantly more space.
“We are just out of room,” he says. “We’ve been out of room since day one when we moved Earth and Hide production into the back area. I feel like we’re ten pounds of store in a five-pound location.”
The Allens have big dreams for their little business. The future full-service coffee bar will serve lattes and cappuccinos as well as drip coffee. They also plan to bring pottery production into the workshop, in addition to leather.
“The magic of it all is that I’ll make the mugs that we serve coffee in! It’ll be a full circle craft experience.”
To expand the store, the Allens have contracted Cornie Friesen from Aberrant Design Studio to carry over their existing boutique aesthetic while adding a few new twists to the concept.
“We will have a mural for selfies and a unique sitting area among the plants,” he says. “We will have an open workshop for people to observe the craftwork process and bar seating at the coffee counter.”
So far, the Allens are hoping to open the new and improved Niverville Community General Store in October. They’re also planning a grand reopening event for 2025.
“As soon as we get into the new space, I’ll be ramping up for my Christmas market season, so we won’t have time to really throw a big event,” Chuck says. “I’m hoping once everyone gets back from our holidays, we can have some sort of party in the new year! We want to thank everyone for their continued support over the last year and a half. I hope we can continue to serve everyone for many years to come.”
