My Nicholson Store has been around for nearly 60 years.
Victor Franzen built the Canyon Creek Store and service station, but it has changed hands a few times since then. Five years ago, Beth Palumbo bought the store with hopes of promoting the sense of community Nicholson has, and providing all of the items people would need at a great price.
“I saw the opportunity of opening it up and getting it back to the community store it was,” Palumbo said, adding that running a store took some trial and error. “It was a challenge to get the prices right, they were a little too low at some points.”
She began renovating the store, turning the space into a more appealing storefront, upgrading electrical, fixing up fridges and coolers, gas pumps, and working with the community to make sure their needs were met.
Now, the store has a new kitchen, equipped with a deep fryer, and everything else it needs to open up a small restaurant on the one side. Palumbo has also been renovating the basement into a full living suite.
Before owning the Nicholson Store, Palumbo had not worked in retail. The experience has been a bit of “baptism by fire,” she said, as she had to learn every aspect as she went along.
“I don’t mind learning new things,” she said. “There’s a lot of good people here that depend on it.”
Her favourite parts of running the store and gas station is all of the locals that stop in and create a community atmosphere. People will leave packages for each other, and everyone is always chatty.
“It’s always neat when the kids come here with a note of what they need or their parents need,” Palumbo said.
Born and raised in Golden, Palumbo now has children and grandchildren who live out of town. She has the store up for sale in hopes that she can live closer to her young family members. She hopes prospective owners will see all of the work she has put into the store and will help it grow to serve the community.
