When I was a child, my parents would bring me to a small Chinese grocer in Vancouver on Saturdays in order to do some weekly shopping. They entertained me with Barbie lollipops – and I loved them so much that they eventually bought home cans. The lollipops came with stickers, and collectible cans that I still have lined up in the kitchen cupboard. One day, I remember going to the grocer and realizing that it was unusually empty. When I got home, my parents told me that the store was closing and something bigger was going to replace it. It was the only place that sold Barbie lollipops, and my little heart broke over the prospect of no more Barbie lollipops, ever. I saved the one I had in my pocket and to this day, I have it wrapped in its original condition.

***

I stumbled across this article, mostly intrigued at first because the writer and I share the same name. Reading more into the article, I was touched by the content of the piece, written about a man and the business he grew up with and in.

Essentially, the article talks about Robert Low and the 55-year-old confectionary store that his family has operated over the years and how it has been impacted by the news that came from BC Housing. BC Housing, who owns the building the store runs in, has plans to renovate the location – which in turn will raise the rent to a price Low may not be able to afford.

Although it is easy to overlook small businesses’ like Low’s, they are exactly the shops that give a community a sense of uniqueness and most importantly, history. Low being pushed out of his shop draws parallels in my mind of the contrasting topic of startups and makes me think about the lifecycle of a business.

As a child, the small business in my life closing had broke my heart because it was a place that provided lots of memories of weekends spent with my mom and dad. For Robert, this small business means losing the place he grew up in – a business that has provided compassion and smiles that served the community’s needs.

P.S. – The lollipops aforementioned are so rare, it seems, that I can’t even find a photo of them or an eBay post that sells them.

—

Sources:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Daphne+Bramham+beloved+small+business/10109625/story.html