The Gleaner

Huntingdon mainstreet gains new life with new store

le lundi 04 mai 2015
Modifié à 0 h 00 min le 04 mai 2015

On Monday, April 20, a new store “La Vallée des Travailleurs” opened up shop at 106 Chateauguay Street in Huntingdon.

Owner Joanne Myre picked the name of her new store carefully as she wanted it to be inclusive of all workers. She says her goal is to have “something for all of the workers” from farmers to landscapers to many other manual laborers.  She hopes the store has a little bit of everything. Everything ranges all the way from tractor tires to work clothes and countless things in between. Not only that, but with the shelves fully stocked, she also explains that she still has plans for bringing in more stock and is looking forward to hearing feedback from the clientele about what they want to see on the shelves.

Myre’s husband, Steven Myatt, says “my wife has dreamed about this since she was a lab technician at Cleyn & Tinker. She always wanted to own her own store.” Joanne says “the time was right” and says it was in helping her niece, Sarah Vandette, open her store, Marché Sarah, next door that really set the ball rolling on making her own dream of owning a store a reality.

Joanne explains that her husband has been a big help in getting in touch with the numerous suppliers since he already had contacts. He says they tried to go with companies as local as possible and proceeds to list off various Quebec-based suppliers. He estimates that about 75% of their merchandise is from Canada or at least North-America; something they have worked hard to provide. They are providing an opportunity for workers to shop locally, and in turn they are putting their money where their mouth is by supporting local businesses on the larger scale. Not only is it money that is going back into our local economy, but its cutting clients travel time. Huntingdon Mayor, André Brunette sums it up by saying: “It’s good not only for the town, but for the whole Valley. They don’t have to go all the way to Valleyfield or St-Martine, they can come right here. It’s great!”

Joanne’s mother and father-in-law, Stanley and Beryl Myatt say that storeowner is a natural fit for Joanne as she is great with people. Her jovial enthusiasm and approachable personality are evident from even the briefest of encounters.