By Emily Stonehouse
As I sit and type this, I am sitting inside Minden’s new restaurant, Fork and Flour. The energy is good, the sun is shining, and it feels optimistic.
I had just come directly from Jug City, where the owners refused an interview, or offered any clarification on the sudden closure, though the community will speculate. As is the nature of a small town.
Open, shut, open, shut.
My son listens to a song with those words. In the video, it’s a small fish, swimming through a coral reef, popping in and out of shells and playing peekaboo with the aquatic life he meets along the way.
Open, shut, open, shut.
That’s what I keep singing in my head.
And not just because these kids’ songs are the catchiest jingles of all time, but because that’s the way things seem to go.
When one door opens, another door shuts. Quite literally, in this town.
I drive back and forth between Minden and Haliburton very often. And I think an entire newspaper could be dedicated to the many openings and closures that occur on a regular basis between the two communities.
This isn’t even including the many small villages on the fringe of the larger centres. But I know the plagues of open, shut, open, shut, happen to hit them too.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage and bravery to open a business. It is absolutely not for the faint of heart. It requires resilience, strength, financial backing, and most importantly, a dream.
Those other things come and go. But once a dream is dead, it’s nearly impossible to bring it back.
While we navigate the nuances of buying local, we have to remember that in our small towns, these businesses have faces behind them. They’re our neighbours, our friends, our family.
And sometimes, these sales they make are the difference between open, shut, open shut.
It’s not just the sales, for these places. It can also be the reception.
Small towns are notorious for maintaining the status quo. This means we have hometown pride; a dedication to our locals and sometimes, an innate sense of ownership that prevents us from broadening our horizons.
But a reminder of the courage and bravery it takes to open a business. And while some businesses run their course, others are forced to shutter based on a lack of support from locals, from municipalities, or from communities as a whole.
Killing a dream doesn’t come easy. It’s not one bad review that tips them over the edge. One slow day that makes them throw in the towel. It’s repetitive actions. Its walls built up where there should be bridges, backs turned that should be embraced, doors slamming that should be opened.
Open, shut, open, shut.
The cycle continues.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy my bacon and eggs.
