Business Destroyed by Explosion Prepares to Reopen
Source: WBAY.com
One of Ellison Bay’s oldest landmarks is set to reopen in about a month.
The Pioneer Store, the only general store in town, was one of three buildings destroyed in a propane explosion last July.
But now crews are working to rebuild the store in the old store’s likeness.
“I remember how much my husband really wanted this store and it kind of encouraged me to go back into it too so that’s why I wanted it to look the same too,” said store owner Carol Newman.
The new Pioneer Store, which contractors hope to have open by early July, does look the same on the outside. The inside, however, will be different.
Green paint will still be on the inside walls, but because of new codes and regulations updated refrigerators and freezers will be installed. The original store had hardwood floors, now there’s tile.
And while Carol Newman expects patrons to comment on the differences, she says the people, not the aesthetics, are what make the store special. “The atmosphere is what makes the store. I don’t think it’s the physical building,” Newman said.
The resurrection of the Pioneer Store to the replica that it is today has not only been exciting for Carol Newman, but it’s something this entire community is really looking forward to.
“It was part of the history of Ellison Bay and with it gone, part of Ellison Bay was missing and now we’re going to put it back as close to the original as we can,” said contractor Carl Carlson.
And since all the work to rebuild the infamous store has been done by local crews, the reopening is going to be even more special for those who shop at the store.