© 2024, Christian Cassidy
Sad news that Young Food Mart at 96 Young Street had to be demolished after a fire on May 24, 2024.
For about a decade in the late 90s and early 00s, I lived right next door to the store and my roommate and I jokingly called it our pantry. A nice Korean couple, the Kins, ran it. It was not just a food store but a hub for the neighbourhood. Here's a look back at its early history.
August 2, 1945, Winnipeg Tribune
Lunn was followed by short-term owners J. W. Welby in 1930 and James Allen by 1934.
The first long-term owners of the store were Jacob and Bertha Plotkin. Both were Russian Jews who came to Canada in 1907 and 1912, respectively.
From the 1933 to the 1937 street directory, Bertha is listed as the proprietor living at 10 Balmoral Street and Jacob isn't listed at all. This suggests that he worked out of town or travelled. From the 1937 to 1947 directory, he is listed as proprietor.
The Plotkins, who were in their mid-forties when they took over this store, were well-known in Winnipeg's Jewish Community.
Bertha was an active member of Canadian Jewish Congress, Jewish Public Library, Jewish Historical Society and several education-related committees. Jacob was a member of Jewish Congress, Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish old folks home and on the fundraising committee of Peretz Folk School.
In 1948, the Plotkins took over Judy's Shoppe, a men's and ladies' wear store at 882 Main Street and ran it until their retirement around 1962.
From the 1933 to the 1937 street directory, Bertha is listed as the proprietor living at 10 Balmoral Street and Jacob isn't listed at all. This suggests that he worked out of town or travelled. From the 1937 to 1947 directory, he is listed as proprietor.
The Plotkins, who were in their mid-forties when they took over this store, were well-known in Winnipeg's Jewish Community.
Bertha was an active member of Canadian Jewish Congress, Jewish Public Library, Jewish Historical Society and several education-related committees. Jacob was a member of Jewish Congress, Jewish Welfare Fund, Jewish old folks home and on the fundraising committee of Peretz Folk School.
In 1948, the Plotkins took over Judy's Shoppe, a men's and ladies' wear store at 882 Main Street and ran it until their retirement around 1962.
October 9, 1969, Winnipeg Tribune
The couple kept busy with their committee work and Jacob worked the odd shift as a clerk at The Peoples Store owned by Israel Pinczowksi at 852 Main Street.
Plotkin, 84, was on duty on September 20, 1969, when two armed teens entered the store looking for money. They used their rifle to beat him badly and leave him with a fractured skull, broken ribs, and internal injuries, He died 49 days later in hospital.
The teens, who netted $160 for their efforts, were later arrested.
Plotkin's killing shocked the community and 350 people showed up for his funeral in October 1969. Tribune coverage of the funeral noted that he was described as gentle, wise, and scholarly, and a man who helped those who needed help.
Bertha Plotkin died in 1974.
Jack Corey took over from the Plotkins and it became known as Corey's Grocery from 1948 to 1952.
Greg and Edwina "Winnie" Cunningham of Kavanagh Street took over in 1953.
The Cunninghams married in 1941 when Greg was serving as a pilot in the Second World War. After the war, he became a pilot instructor with the forces then bought the store. He had previously worked with his father in the grocery business. They had a daughter named Coralee.
For a few years, the store was known as Cunninham's Red and White Store. Red and White was one of several local chains that allowed dozens of small, independent grocers to pool their buying power and advertising dollars. By the late 1950s, that affiliation appears to have ended but the store became Cunningham's Lucky Dollar, another chain, in the 1960s.
The Cunninghams ran the store until at least 1965. That's when the availability of online versions of the street directories end. (One can go to the Millennium Library and look up later years manually.)
Greg Cunningham died in 1999 and Winnie Cunningham died in 2005.
I lived in this neighbourhood starting in 1997 just after it hit rock bottom. One newspaper had dubbed West Broadway "Murder's Half Acre" for the amount of violent crime in the area. At that time, the store was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Kin.
Mr. Kin was noted for his refusal to provide money to would-be thieves even when they came armed with handguns, shotguns or knives. His antics, which sometimes included chasing them down the sidewalk with a shovel in hand, led police on at least two occasions to contact the media to urge shop owners not to resist.
In one July 1997 story, there had been four armed robbery attempts at his store in the previous six months.
Kin managed to survive the attempts and in the early 2000s I found him and his wife running a grocery store downtown.
Mr. Kin was noted for his refusal to provide money to would-be thieves even when they came armed with handguns, shotguns or knives. His antics, which sometimes included chasing them down the sidewalk with a shovel in hand, led police on at least two occasions to contact the media to urge shop owners not to resist.
In one July 1997 story, there had been four armed robbery attempts at his store in the previous six months.
Kin managed to survive the attempts and in the early 2000s I found him and his wife running a grocery store downtown.
5 comments:
Thank you for the history on the store. I used to live at the Gar Neil Apartments on Langside in the early 70 ‘ s , it was a nice quiet area back then. The apartment has been bought out by Balmoral School and I think is used for students housing.
I remember the Lucky Dollar!
Store owners need a shotgun under the counter.
A real shame the area lost Young's. I lived in the Balmoral-Spence-Young area between 2005 and 2022, next door at 100 Young until 2022. Always seemed to have what I needed.
Awww I'm not surprised it burnt down. Business was terrible and the owners were having trouble stocking shelves. Beside smelling smoke I smell something suspicious besides fire. Those owners were horrible store owners. They sold illegal smokes ripped children off and they started selling their ugly old clothing. Food was rotten and whatever they had for sale was way over price. They are losing business and rarely had their shelves stocked. I wouldn't be surprised if they did it themselves.
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