Her dream was to open dollar store
And Catherine Hill did just that April 29 in Hay River
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, May 8, 2017
HAY RIVER
As the ribbon was cut, the accolades started flowing April 29 for a new retailer in town.
On hand for the April 29 ribbon-cutting to open the Great Canadian Dollar Store in Hay River were, left to right, Gerry Russ, president of the Great Canadian Dollar Stores from Victoria, B.C.; Catherine Hill, owner/general manager of the new store; Coun. Steve Anderson of the Town of Hay River; and Hay River South MLA Wally Schumann, who is also the minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo |
"I'm excited for Hay River. I'm excited for new business," said Yvonne Burke, one of those shoppers at the Great Canadian Dollar Store franchise's official opening.
"It gives opportunity. It's a new way to welcome spring. It's something new."
That's exactly what Catherine Hill, the store's sole owner and general manager, hoped to hear.
Hill said it was a "joyous moment" to have the store open for business.
"Having the store open was exciting," she said.
"And it made me extremely happy to see so many people from the community come out and support our venture."
In a March interview, when asked what shoppers could expect on opening weekend, Hill said she was confident Hay River consumers would enjoy the first Great Canadian Dollar Store in the NWT.
"I think the town is going to be very receptive to the business," she said.
"I think the Great Canadian Dollar Store will have something for absolutely everybody and I think that this is a business that the town will love and enjoy and accept."
Hill, her husband and their family have lived in Hay River going on two years, and when she arrived she found the community to be a place where she wanted to open her first business.
"Opening a dollar store has been something that has been on my radar for a number of years now," she said, adding she first needed to find a place where she wanted to raise her children, settle down and call home.
"I didn't want to start a business somewhere where I didn't see long-term," she said. "So when we moved to Hay River, we completely fell in love with the community and the people and the water and the lifestyle. And it was just Hay River was home.
"So I felt more comfortable to then go on to pursuing my dream of opening a dollar store."
Hill noted during that March interview as renovations were ongoing to her new store - the former True Value Hardware - her background is as a bookkeeper.
"I've helped run companies before," she said, adding owning her own business is the next step for her.
While she has hired two co-managers, Hill intends to be involved in the store as the owner and general manager.
"There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on that people don't really realize," she said, explaining
that includes a lot of ordering and bookkeeping.
Hill expects her new store will create five or six jobs, but that number might increase during busy seasons.
- with files from James O'Connor
