Why Would Someone Close A Rural Grocery Store & Abandon The Inventory….

There is one that closed in 1963 and all of the canned groceries, tobacco items, dishes, and other things are still sitting on the shelves. Someone could make a fortune today if they sold everything. I think this store is in Canada.

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Heartlander · 80-89, M

My dad was a grocer with a corner store in a small town. When he closed he simply sold his remaining stock to other stores and it was gone immediately. I'm not sure what his formula was but I think 40 or 50 cents on the dollar would have made it a win-win arrangement. Shelf stable merchandise traditionally has a 15 to 20% margin, so at least double that would have worked to everyone's advantage.

4meAndyou · F

"The 153 Mile Store in British Columbia was first opened back in 1900, but it closed down in 1963 after the store owner passed away suddenly. All of the merchandise remains in the store, exactly like on the day that it closed."

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Gibbon · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti It seems likely there is no owner.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Gibbon Someone let the man inside of the store, so someone is in charge of it. I don’t know how the law works but in the USA if property taxes go unpaid for a certain length of time the property can be sold at auction for the taxes and the government.

Gibbon · 70-79, M

@cherokeepatti Yes it's a real mystery why it could sit untouched for so long. And I repeat that place would have been looted not long after closing if it were in the US.

Matt85 · 36-40, M

food stuffs doesn't sell as antiques

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Matt85 They are in tins like tea, coffee, candies and other decorative packages, a lot of them anyway. Even the chocolates. So yeah someone would buy those. Some restaurants like to decorate with nostalgic items like that, and they can also be used for movie props and those who are into antiques would decorate with them. They sold a whole lot of things besides groceries even a small selection of shoes, toys, some beauty and hygiene items. I guess the store was in an isolated area quite a distance from a city. We had a village two miles from our store and the general store wasn’t nearly as large as this one but they had a selection of non-grocery items that they would sell.

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

Maybe the proprietor died and there was no one there to deal with his estate, so it was just abandoned.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@DunningKruger If they have property taxes in Canada then someone had to pay those, the heirs probably. At this point it’s nearly like a museum of an old time general store. I think they keep it locked up. Really neat everything he showed.

DunningKruger · 61-69, M

@cherokeepatti I think I saw that in a Curiosity Inc. video.

Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M

What? No crackheads or homeless to move in?

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

@Crazywaterspring in a rural very cold area.

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