Weaver and Devore ‘moving from one family to another’

The Weaver family has decided the time is right to sell its Yellowknife general store, which has been a part of the community for nearly 90 years.

Harry Weaver and Bud Devore arrived in the new and tiny community in 1936 to set up a trading operation. Devore sold his interest to the Weavers in 1955 and the family has owned and operated the store since.

Weaver and Devore remains a grocery stop for Old Town and Latham Island residents, a distributor of camp and bush necessities, and an outfitter carrying winter gear relied on by residents and tourists alike.

Now, it’ll be run by Curtis Dunford, Cherish Winsor and their sons, Micah and James.

In a news release, Dunford and Winsor said the store is “moving from one family to another” and they intend to change nothing except some behind-the-scenes modernization of systems.

“After three generations of Weavers, a new multi-generation local family takes the reins,” the news release stated.

“The aim is stewardship and keeping the store’s northern heart intact.”

Ken Weaver told Cabin Radio his family – he is one of eight siblings – felt “it’s time to move on to the next phase of our lives.”

“We’re all in our early 70s and so we put some feelers out and we were approached by some wonderful people,” Weaver said.

“They’re very enthusiastic about the store. They have a lot of new energy and they’re bringing their sons into the equation, so it’s going to be a family-run business again, and I think that bodes very well for them.

“I think they’ll do very well. They have a lot of varied talents and I think they’re going to make excellent successors.”

Store has ‘stayed the course’

The formal transfer of the store is understood to be taking place this week. The Weaver family will remain in the store for the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

Weaver said none of the family’s younger generations had wanted to keep operating the store, but he understood their desire to pursue their own passions.

“Almost every niece and every nephew has worked in the store at some point in time, so they have had experience – they knew what we were experiencing day in, day out. It’s been a wonderful experience but it’s a bit of a grind,” he said.

“Those young people have other interests and so kudos to them, they’re all doing very, very well in their own fields. They’re very accomplished young people.”

He said the store remains “very healthy” and has largely stuck to the same lines of business that sustained it for the past nine decades.

“We get a lot of support from the Yellowknife community and we’ve stuck to the basics,” Weaver said.

“In the early days, people would travel to Yellowknife at Christmas or Easter by dog team and there’d be lots of trading. Nowadays, the orders come by email, fax and telephone. That’s been a small change, but we’ve basically stayed the course.”