Namao's most famous store is once again open for business, and may soon have hot fish and chips.
Johnny's Store in Namao opened its doors for the first time in more than two years Monday.
First opened in 1902, Johnny's Store is a popular hangout for students and residents in Namao and the community's sole store and gas station. The store has been a fixture in the community for generations and been featured in many films and TV shows.
Store co-owner Brenda McNeilly said she and her husband John had to shutter the shop in July 2014 after John's arthritis got too bad for him to work.
"It was hard to close it up," she said, and many Namao residents were upset with the decision.
"You're shutting down part of the community."
Although it was used on occasion for wedding photos and to film the TV show Blackstone, Johnny's Store ceased to operate as a store for the next two years. It was the longest time that the store had ever been closed since the McNeilly family bought it in the 1930s, McNeilly said.
While they kept the store clean and maintained, McNeilly said she and her husband weren't sure what to do with the place. There was strong community demand to bring the store back, but everyone who approached her to rent the building wanted to make it something other than a general store (a thrift shop, for example).
Namao's Carolyn MacPherson was different, McNeilly said. MacPherson approached her in April with a 20-year plan to keep Johnny's as a general store. Impressed, McNeilly agreed to rent the place to her.
Family tradition
MacPherson said she grew up helping to run her family's general store in Newfoundland, and that her kids spent their childhoods frequenting Johnny's.
"It's something that meant a lot to me," she said of the place.
MacPherson said her goal is to make Johnny's a true general store again, one that stocks everything from socks to safety pins. She also hopes to install a kitchen to offer an item popular in Newfoundland's community stores: fish and chips.
"The fish will be coming from Newfoundland," she said, and be made in-house.
MacPherson said she and her husband have no plans to change the store's classic look (apart from a bit of paint and perhaps a new floor), and hope to bring back the soft-serve ice cream and old-time candy shortly. While they don't plan to resume service as a Canada Post outlet, they will be a drop-off point for Purolator.
Nancy Suranyi of Namao Automotive down the road said she was very excited to hear that the store had re-opened, both due to its history with the hamlet and the fact that her staff would no longer have to drive out of town to gas up vehicles.
"It was such a landmark here," she said, and it's been around for as long as she can remember.
"To see the store close down and then of course to see the (Namao) fire hall move, it's been getting a little lonely out on the highway here."
Community stores like this one offer a personable, first-name-basis experience you don't get with the big chains, MacPherson said.
"You're showing people in the community that they are somebody."
Every time a small business like Johnny's closes, it chips away at a community's identity and viability, said Sturgeon County Mayor Tom Flynn. This store's restoration would bring much needed funds and public attention back to Namao.
"It's one of those iconic places in the region that certainly has value."
MacPherson said she and her family plan to run Johnny's for years to come.
"My son said he never thought he'd walk in and be a part of the store."
The store is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 to 4 Saturdays.
