'A time to be true to ourselves': Alberta mom and daughter selling beloved country store
Carvel General Store draws tourist traffic to tiny hamlet west of Edmonton
There's a certain magical aura that surrounds Alberta's roadside attractions. They can be weird or educational, a place to buy homemade jerky, or even a giant monument celebrating the perogy.
One such destination sits in the small hamlet of Carvel, Alta., 45 minutes west of Edmonton, south of Highway 16 on Highway 770.
The Carvel General Store and its unique treasures have been attracting road-trippers, campers and train enthusiasts for the past two decades.
But now, owners Carell Wingrave and her daughter Kristine Olson are hoping to move on, and have put the beloved little shop up for sale.
"In our business plan, we said 20 years and here we are at 20 years," Olson said.
"We've always sort of been true to ourselves and what we sell and buy. So this is also a time to be true to ourselves and allow my partner, who's also my mother, to retire and continue travelling."
The store sits on a rural road near an old Ukrainian church and two rural homes. The single-storey wooden building with a cedar-shake roof dates to 1918.
Out front there's a garden, a deck, trees and wild flowers.
Inside, well-worn wooden floors creak underfoot as shoppers weave their way through shelves packed with merchandise — homemade jams, teas, preserves, linens, ornaments, trinkets and vintage goods.
About one-third of all the products are made by Alberta artisans. That focus on local is what Olson believes attracts people, from the busloads of tourists who arrive on the weekend to campers heading to nearby lake lots.
"People seek those experiences out, and lots of people are looking to get out of the city and just explore rural Alberta," Olson said.
"And that's been a big focus for us, just preserving the history of the area and loving this place as long as we can. And keeping it vital for everybody in the community."
Today's Carvel General Store is the most recent use for a charming building with a long history. It was originally a popular general store serving farmers in the area, Wingrave said.
"They had bulk fuel and bulk feed. They sold potatoes, tuna fish, rope, rubber boots, fabric, anything the farmers in the area needed," she said.
"They had the post office and they sold insurance here and then became a gas station.
"And it survived quite well until the grain elevators were removed and the farmers started taking their grain to the big silos."
Wingrave purchased the boarded-up property in 1997. Olson convinced her to open the shop, which opened in 2003.
Since then, it's become a destination.
"We've met all different kinds of people, men and women, they've grown up here or they've met or known somebody who lived in the area or a group of ladies who are out for a sisters' day," Olson said.
"Lots of different people — and everybody has time to tell their story when they're here. And we do love that."
The business, listed for sale at $350,000, includes an attached residence and a carriage house.
Everybody has time to tell their story when they're here. And we do love that.- Kristine Olson
The owners' decision to sell the century-old property has been met with some sadness on social media and by regulars like Lisa Lawrence, who camps nearby at Mink Lake.
"I couldn't believe it. It is a little sad. I look forward to it every year because I come and do my Christmas shopping in September sometimes."
Olson and Wingrave say it will be business as usual until a new owner is found. They say they will soak up what remains of this chapter in their lives, but they hope the future is bright for their shop.
"Something fresh, it could be kind of the same, it could be completely different," Olson said.
"I'm just looking for new energy and I wish that person or those people all the love and joy and peace and happiness we've gotten from this place."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
