Familiar faces open new stores
New barbershop and the return of a second-hand store in Centre Square Mall
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Centre Square Mall is seeing two new storefronts but the faces behind them will be familiar to Yellowknifers.
Hairstylist Kathryn Stuckey, left, and owner Rogelio "Rogel" Pineda stand next to the window of Rogel's Barbershop inside the Centre Square Mall. Pineda opened the business in early August after working for the old owners, Jeff and Rose Thorpe, for more than eight years. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo
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Dan's Place, formerly located on 50 Street in the same building as the Royal Canadian Legion, is re-opening on the upper level of the mall while Filipino-Canadian barber Rogelio Pineda recently became his own boss after setting up Rogel's Barbershop in the mall's lower level next to Northern Transition.
"It's a big change," said Pineda on the move to becoming a business owner. "It's kind of scary, but it's good."
Pineda opened the space after working for the old owners, Jeff and Rose Thorpe, for more than eight years. After they closed their business earlier this year, Rogelio still wanted to be a barber and figured Ragged Ass Barbers already had lots of staff, so he opened his barbershop in early August.
The name of the shop comes from Pineda's shortened name, Rogel, which he selected after he discovered many people had trouble pronouncing his full name.
Pineda estimated he's spent approximately $200 to $300 on extra tools and extra furniture for the space.
So far the only other staffer is Kathryn Stuckey, a hairstylist with 27 years of experience.
Stuckey said she decided to work for Pineda because she liked his work ethic.
"He's a good man," she said.
According to Pineda, business is steady so far. He works six days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Sundays off. He said most of the customers are adults and many of the regulars are starting to come back.
"They are glad I opened," he said.
As for the future, there are plans for Stuckey to offer more hair colours for female clients.
"Hopefully, it'll be busier and successful," Pineda said. "That's what every business is looking for."
The return of the second-hand seller
Rogel's isn't the only new business that's set up shop in the Centre Square Mall.
Perpetual entrepreneur, Dan Hayward, is back at upper floor of the Centre Square Mall with his new store, Dan's Place.
"I thought, if I can afford the rent, I will come here and try and buy and sell and trade," he said. "And finally decided to come to the mall again."
The two-floor, 700-square foot, second-hand shop mostly specializes in used DVDs, video games and electronics, tools, sporting equipment and small appliances. There are also some new items and antiques.
Hayward said much of his inventory was from the old place at the Legion and his previous business ventures, including his sports goods store, Headgear.
"I had all this second-hand stuff and I still got lots in storage," he said, adding that his lack of full-time employment also contributed to the creation of the store. "I had to create a job."
Hayward paid for his business licence on Aug. 24 and he was prepared for customers the first week of September.
According to Hayward, Dan's Place is designed to serve many of the residents in the smaller communities who still use DVDs.
"They've always treated me good over the years," he said. "Look forward to seeing the past customers coming in again."
Hayward estimated the store doesn't even hold one-fifth of his total inventory, which includes items stored inside a 50-foot van, a storage locker, a horse trailer, a 20 by 20 foot shed, an area underneath his house among other places.
"My kids think it's junk," he said, "And to some it's worth nothing."
At the Legion, Hayward said he couldn't generate enough sales there. In the mall, he said that $100 per day in sales is the difference between being OK and being broke.
"That's enough to pay rent and insurance," he said. "As long as I buy right and the stuff that sells quickly."
The part of the business Hayward said he really dislikes is having to buy items from those suffering the greatest financially.
"You have to be somewhat hard on the people who need it the most," he said. "Sometimes I feel like I have to pay more but I can't."
Hayward said if he gets enough cash he'll start offering pawning services again, as many people need the cash or payday loan.
"People will sell their soul for a pack of cigarettes," he said.
The most expensive items sold are televisions and electric guitars, which can range in price from $150 to $200.
Hayward said his biggest challenge isn't the fact that he starts work at 5 in the morning with Jazz Airlines, works 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the store and then tends bar at the Legion until 10:30 pm or 1 p.m. every day of the week. It's dealing with the number of people who try to bargain or complain about his prices at Dan's Place - $5 for movies, $10 for video games. He showed off a small green sign that sits at the front desk that reads: "Guess what, I don't care what Wall Mart (sic) sells for."
Despite losing $275,000 in the past, Hayward said he isn't worried about the future, something he said a lot of people are always puzzled by.
"My philosophy is work hard, do the best you can, then so be it," he said. "If I lose, I can always start again and I have many a time."
While Hayward never intends on retiring, he credits his wife, Nancy Hayward, for putting up with him for 42 years and all his "financial messes."
"She tried to keep the books straight, gets up at 6 and goes til 10-11-12 at night," he said, describing his wife a tremendously hard worker. "She's the backbone of the organization."
