“You know, you don't need to go out to the giants in the suburbs or the periphery,” Kornelsen said. The metaphorical jaws of the large-scale grocery store have yet to sink into the West End. There’s also an element of timelessness to this area of the city because of how easy it is to find a nearby corner store. West End residents statistically take the bus to work more than other parts of Winnipeg, which contributes heavily to short-distance foot traffic, leading to increased corner store usage. “I love the feeling I get going in them and chatting with the owners and, and just embracing the lifestyle that those little convenience stories facilitate.”įor many people, it’s easy to stop by their closest corner store on the way home from work, or to stop in and buy three or four items every couple of days. “The West End pulls that off and it's actually these little corner stories that I think illustrate that more than anything else.” “There aren't a lot of places in Winnipeg where you can really get that feeling of really living in a pretty big city,” Kornelsen said. Personal connections between the owners of the stores and their customers are not uncommon for corner stores in the West End, according to Joe Kornelsen, the Executive Director of the West End Biz. Everyone who comes into my store is my friend.” “My personality is, I like to talk to new people. 20% comes from students from the University of Winnipeg.” “They come today or tomorrow… or I'm sure they'll come later on in the week. “80% of my customers are regulars,” Seo said. The level of community is evident with the conversations she has with customers, joking about buying or not buying certain things as though she has their regular purchases memorized. It's also likely that Sunny is part of the reason they show up.Ĭustomers can’t usually get away without a comment or two, a rapport she and her husband have built up over the years. But here if they have a little bit of money, they can spend a little bit of money at the corner store.” So you have a car and a lot of money, they’ll be going over to a big store, they’ll buy a bunch. “Especially in the wintertime, it’s very easy to walk to the corner store… They can’t walk for 20 or 30 minutes, in minus 30 or 25. According to the owner of Y-Not foods, Sunny Seo, you can’t beat the benefits that corner stores provide. Many of these family convenience stores are old, but there continue to be new ones that pop up. In the West End, there is a disproportionate amount of successful corner stores when compared to the rest of Winnipeg.
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