The Northern store will close its doors for good on January 31.
A sign out front says “Store closing January 31” and inside the shelves are almost bare, as staff continues to work.
Tim Ross, general manager of The North West Company, said in a press release that “with a long history of service to the people of Fort St. James the decision to close our store was a difficult one.”
But the release also said the store “could not be positioned successfully to reach a profitable position.”
Staff refrained from commenting on the closure, referring questions to head office in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, there was no reply from head office at press time.
Local shopper Carla Howell was walking through the aisles one last time on Wednesday.
“I think it’s crazy,” she said. “I’m just sad to see it go.”
“Now where are we going to go for Moonlight Madness?” she said, suggesting The Northern was the place to be during that event.
Howell shopped at the Northern for event prizes for work and liked how the store had a little bit of everything.
The Northern was Howell’s first job out of high school, and she really appreciate the good people she worked with while on staff at the store.
Ann McCormick, supervisor at the local College of New Caledonia campus said “it’s like an end of an era.” McCormick always appreciated how immaculately clean the store was and saw the store as a historical link to the fur trade for the community.