The Ranch Gate Market, a local butcher shop in Sylvan Lake, will be closing Thursday and will vacate it's current location on April 30.
The company is at the end of its current lease, and can no longer stay in operation due to a raise in rent for the space, co-owner Dreefy Brown said.
"Our landlord investor group initially requested a 48 per cent increase in base rent and an approximately 12 per cent increase in triple net. At first, we hoped that was a miscommunication, but after much back and forth, talks stopped when they gave a final offer of a 26 per cent increase, which would have had us still roughly 17 per cent above fair market value for our centre."
"We are one more victim in the wild and unpredictable world of commercial lease property owners vs the businesses that occupy those properties. Unfortunately, Alberta does not have regulations on commercial property lease increases, so the property owners can demand whatever they please, no matter the fair market price."
While the Ranch Gate Market is closing, the owners are hoping to find a new location for their business in or near Sylvan Lake.
"When we bought this business, the relationship between the previous sets of owners and the townspeople ranged from precarious to downright explosive. We poured our hearts into building the relationship we have now, and we are grateful that our little shop has become, to quote one of our regulars, 'an institution in this town.'"
"The Town office and staff in Planning and Development have been phenomenal and are doing all within their power to assist and ensure our doors are not closed forever," Brown said.
Within hours of making the Facebook post about the closure on March 31, Brown received hundreds of messages.
"I've lost count of how many people have come in with the intent of stocking their freezers with enough to carry them through until we reopen. There have been spontaneous prayers, hugs, and tears, and I'm sure more will come."
Over the past six years many friendships have been developed, she added.
"When a new patron walks in our doors, we automatically welcome them to our Ranch Gate family, and we intend to keep that momentum as we move forward. Word of mouth has always been the greatest form of advertising, and when we have customers calling in from past our provincial borders because their family has either shared our products or just shared our name, it speaks volumes."
Fellow local businesses have also been supportive, Brown said.
"Our neighbouring businesses have been wonderful. We are grateful for the micro-community we have formed within our complex, and we will miss it greatly."
The closure also doesn't just impact people in Sylvan Lake, she added.
"This closure, temporary as it may be, doesn't just affect our families and our town; it affects our province from High River to Lethbridge. I am thankful that we have a website and social media pages where we can keep everyone apprised of the future because the list of people asking for information on our next location or when we'll be able to reopen would take eons to contact individually."
Since announcing the closure, Ranch Gate Market staff have been working with all hands on deck to clear out the inventory.
"The remaining days of April will be spent dismantling our cutting and production facility and moving everything pertinent to our work into storage. After everything is moved and the space is laid bare, we are going to spend a little time outside with the coming spring," Brown said.
This is not the end for the Ranch Gate Market, she added.
"In Finland, we have what is called 'Sisu.' It is a term used to describe determination, courage, grit, and resilience. It is written into the very core of who we are and how we are. This 'Sisu' is what pulls us to our feet, clears our minds, and plants our feet for the next round against whatever opponent we face. It is this, with the addition of straight stubbornness from our Mum's Scottish heritage that will propel us forward as we lean into what God has written for our future."
