Jacob, Amy and their son, Jason, are delighted to reopen their convenience store, which was severely damaged by an excavator last June.
By Denise Bacon
Amy and Jacob are absolutely thrilled to reopen the doors of their newly branded convenience store for their customers after going through a nightmarish experience followed by months of uncertainty and waiting.
On June 23, 2025, criminals stole an excavator from the Port Union Road construction site and broke through the roof of the plaza, apparently trying to rob the bank machines at Scotiabank. This criminal act created a huge, jagged hole in the roof of the plaza with most of the damage above and inside the convenience store.
Amy and Jacob have come a long way since that horrific experience, which threw their lives off-kilter for more than six months. Their source of income suddenly and violently came to an abrupt halt that day. Yet, Amy, Jacob and their son, Jason, persevered right into mid-January when most of the renovations were complete for the store to reopen.
Last fall, Amy was quoted in Centennial News saying, “We want to let our customers know that we’re not going anywhere. We will be back!” And they are back!
Amy’s warm smile spoke volumes as she said gratefully, “I feel connected to my community now. People showed that they cared so much!” After their story was published in the September issue of the paper, residents would stop Amy in the community to empathize and to offer help. They were happy to know Amy’s name and her family’s story. Amy said that all these interactions warmed her heart and had the extra benefit of improving her English language communication skills. Meeting so many caring people was a silver lining to the cloud that hung over their closed business.
Now, the convenience store at the northeast corner of Port Union and Lawson is sporting a big red and white sign heralding that Convenience and Vape is back in business.
Jacob specifically mentioned that the Vape side of their business is highly secure and accessed through a separate door. Customers must produce age-appropriate identification to be served. He said that vape products are replacing cigarettes for customers with nicotine dependencies and these products help with income in the challenging convenience store industry.
Amy grinned as she acknowledged that she designed their eye-catching new sign. She and Jacob want to welcome back all their old customers and to put out a warm invitation to new ones. Jason, their son, is happy to be back to help Mom and Dad in the store whenever he can and to proudly serve his friends who come in.