When Yves and Heather Ouellette decided to buy a convenience store a few blocks from a 7-Eleven, it wasn’t the news their accountant wanted to hear.
But four years later, those fears have been put to rest.
“We are able to say it’s still going strong,” said Heather.
And it has been going strong for nearly 50 years, having opened as Paul’s Superette in 1965, in a location that had been a store for several years before that. The long-standing history was a big factor in their decision to buy the business.
“It wasn’t like we were starting a new business,” said Yves.
That meant the business came with an already established clientele, who were pleased to see the business continue after Danny and Marg Spring sold it to the Ouellettes.
“To see the regular customers every day brings a smile to my face,” said Heather.
They come in for a variety of reasons, including milk, candy, deli sandwiches and Kootenay Meadows cheese, and in the summer, iced cappuccino and gelato.
“We have diehard regular customers who love the gelato,” said Yves.
And, of course, nearly everyone who’s been to Paul’s knows about Screamers, a slushy topped with vanilla soft-serve.
“Even people who move away come back and say, ‘I had Screamers here when I was a kid,’ ” said Yves.
The store is also a pickup location for Canada Post and Purolator parcels, offers BC Lottery products, and is the only Western Union outlet between Cranbrook and Nelson, a service that customers appreciate.
“A number of customers were so thankful because they had to drive 20 minutes to Yahk to send money overseas,” said Yves, referring to the now-closed Yahk Western Union outlet.
With the superette being a regular stop for many residents, it’s no surprise that the owners know customers’ shopping habits better than the customers themselves.
“That’s the nice thing about a small town,” said Yves. “As soon as someone comes in, you go and get their cigarettes. That’s something I hadn’t experienced before.”
The couple is from Calgary, where they owned a large campground and store with 25 staff, and moved to Creston five years ago. They had previously fallen in love with the Creston Valley and bought an investment property here a few years earlier.
As with any older building — most of it is pre-1965, and the second story of the attached house was added in the 1980s — there is always something to fix, said Yves, one of his favourite aspects of running the business. He has already redone the flooring, and made some major cosmetic changes to the outside, with fresh paint, new roofing and a new sign.
And while they’ve done what they can to put their own mark on the business, Heather and Yves both know that changing the name was never an option.
“If you change the name, people will still remember it as Paul’s,” said Yves.