Mary's Corner Store reopens in Bowness
The Homestretch | CBC News | Posted: September 8, 2016 11:44 PM | Last Updated: September 8, 2016
Sept. 8 chosen as reopening for luck, says owner
More than three years after the Calgary floods, a small but beloved corner store in Bowness has reopened its doors.
Mary's Corner Store has stood on Bowness Road by 60th Street since the 1940s, but was demolished in 2014 after suffering major flood damage, like many other businesses and homes in the area.
But on Thursday morning, the cash register was ringing away as familiar faces and customers milled about the store, chatting as they picked over the offerings.
"I'm happy. I like to hear that sound," owner Jade Tea told CBC's The Homestretch.
"My customers so happy they heard I'm opening. They always come in to here, and they hug me. That's why I feel so happy," she said.
'I do it for you'
The building had to be demolished in 2014, but Tea knew she wasn't ready to close her doors forever. She spoke with her husband about what they could do to keep their business alive.
"He told me that, okay, he would build a new one for me. 'I do it for you, if you want. We'll both work together,'" Tea recounted.
He's since passed away, but Tea said she manages just fine with the help of all her sons.
Tea has owned the store for just over eight years, and its reopening on Sept. 8 in the same location is no coincidence.
The number eight is viewed as a particularly lucky number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word for "wealth" or "prosper."
Tea isn't sure what impact, if any, that might have on her business, but she thinks she's off to a good start.
"I feel like it's lucky because I saw all my customers so happy," she said.
With files from The Homestretch