Philippe Morin
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 5, 2007

HOLMAN - Travis Kuptana is 24 and runs his own business.

It's a small furnace-heated place in Ulukhaktok, which is open until midnight six days a week.

The TK Snack Shop, as it's called, sells chips, chocolate, beef jerky and other small things.

Kuptana sells no cigarettes or magazines, and the most popular items are 25-cent candies.

"It's a 12 by 24 foot little shack, but it does the job," he said with a laugh.

Since Ulukhaktok is rather isolated by the Beaufort Sea, Kuptana said everything about starting a business was tough.

He had to build his store from the ground up, salvaging parts from the now-defunct Arctic Char Inn.

One hassle was finding lumber for construction. Since Ulukhaktok is above the tree line - and the NTCL barge visits only once a year - Kuptana said finding planks of wood proved difficult.

"It wasn't easy and it didn't happen all at once like I thought it would," he said of the shop's construction, adding it took him seven months and many thousands of dollars to complete the store in March 2006.

Another problem was merchandise. Kuptana said he started buying candy from the local North Mart and Co-Op stores to stock his shelves in the first weeks.

While some friendly managers offered him a discount, this arrangement meant his store had nothing original to offer at first.

Today, Kuptana orders special varieties of candy from Edmonton, which are delivered by plane, including the 25-cent ones he almost can't keep in stock.

"It's what the kids come in for," he said. "If you write 25-cent candies, everyone in the community will know what I'm talking about."

Kuptana also said he's had stock arrive on the NTCL barge lately, which will help keep costs down.

While some nutritionists might deplore the effects of sugary snacks on northern communities, they do make perfect sense from a merchant's point of view.

"It doesn't go bad and it doesn't freeze," Kuptana said.

With an active business, Kuptana said it can be difficult balancing work and family.

He raises his three-year-old son Trent alongside his fiancée Shauna Malgokak.

"Sometimes it's hard because we can't make it to work without a babysitter," he said.

And sometimes, Kuptana said he must bring Trent to the store for the day.

Thankfully, people of Ulukhaktok understand.

"There is no washroom so I sometimes have to take Trent back home and put up a sign that says 'back in five minutes.' or I would sometimes say to 'please be quiet he's trying to sleep,'" Kuptana said.

While it has meant a lot of personal sacrifice - including months where he worked six days, 8 a.m. to midnight, a week, manning the store - Kuptana said he's proud of his little snack shack.

He especially wished to thank the community and his family for support.

He mentioned his cousin Adam Inuktalik and uncle Joshua Oliktoak, who helped build furniture, and also Kirby Nokadlak, who often fills in at the snack shop.

"It took a lot of hard work for myself. Also, having a child it wasn't easy. Sometimes I felt like I wanted to give up. But they were there when I needed them the most," he said.