Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 10/99) - The city's lone music store will play on.

Fiddles & Stix manager Jim White has bought the music business from former owner Phil Lee, White said last week.

Earlier this year, it looked like owner Lee would shut the shop for good.

Asked about the timing of the move to take over the business, White said he believes the city's economy is poised to get even stronger.

"I think Yellowknife has gone through the worst of it. I think it's been the worst over the past year and we made it through that," he said.

He pointed to resolution of the strike at Con mine and last week's environmental approval of the Diavik diamond project as positives for the city's economy.

"A lot's changed since February (when it like the store would be closing in summer)," he said.

The deal closed Nov. 1 under the name Fiddles & Stix Music Centre 1999 Ltd.

The store, located in the Scotia Mall on Franklin Avenue, will continue to sell musical instrument products and services. Fiddles & Stix will also continue to contract with four instructors, piano, clarinet/saxophone, guitar, drums and bass guitar, for music lessons.

Fiddles & Stix was opened in 1995 by Lee and business partner Brian Lyons. Lee, who subsequently bought out Lyons, is a partner in security company SECURECheck with Ron Near.

White, who grew up in Yellowknife, took recording engineering in Vancouver. Over the past three years, he served as stage manager for the Folk on the Rocks music festival.

Back in 1995, he was assistant manager of Toa Chen's art gallery. He later opened up a Toa Chen's franchise in Vancouver, he said.

But, he says, what sounded like a good idea at the time failed to get off the ground because of the recession.

He returned to Yellowknife and took on the manager's position at the music store. White noted that although the art store effort did not work out, the experience was quite valuable.