Robinson's General Store in Dorset to reopen under new ownership
The future of Robinson's General Store will continue with new owners preparing to reopen the iconic shop after it suddenly closed in January.
The Dorset store opened in 1921 and had become a fixture in the community, with cottagers and locals reliant on its supplies.
New owner Venkata Kommina plans to reopen the general store and get it completely stocked with all the necessities as summer approaches.
"They can't drive every time to Huntsville and Bracebridge to get groceries and needs, so they have to shop here. I know it's a 100-year thing, so everyone knows the store as well," he said.
Kommina added they would need to hire 30 to 60 people to once again get the general store fully functional.
In 2021, the Robinson family sold the general store, which acted as a one-stop shop for clothes, groceries and hardware in cottage country to Mike and Katie Hinbest.
Then in January, the Hinbest's were forced to close its doors, to the disappointment of locals.
"It's killed downtown Dorset. There's hardly any traffic. The other businesses have suffered dramatically," said Brad Robinson, former owner of Robinson's General Store.
Robinson knew he had to buy the store back until he could find new owners who recognized the need in the community.
Kommina hopes to reopen on Friday with essentials like bread and milk until he can fully stock the shelves.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.