Working in a grocery store has been Mike Belliveau’s bread and butter for the last 51 years.
It began when his older brother asked him to give him a hand at a store in Weymouth, N.S.
“I went to work sweeping floors and stocking shelves for him at ten years old, and I’ve apparently never looked back cause I’m still here,” Belliveau tells CTV News.
He continued working in the industry after school ended and 25 years ago he opened Mike’s Foodland in Tatamagouche, N.S. At the end of the month, he’s hanging up his price gun and retiring.
“I want some time to spend with my family which I’ve always worked around my position here,” says Belliveau.
Looking back 50 years ago, Belliveau remembers when ground beef was only 47 cents a pound.
“Carnation milk at five for 49 cents, and that was at the regular price. It wasn’t even on sale,” Belliveau recalls. “Today, that same can can cost as much as two dollars.”
Customers and staff say Belliveau’s retirement is bittersweet.
“Oh he’s been here so long,” says customer Wanda Brown. “It’s gonna be pretty different not seeing him cause you come in the store and you always see Mike.”
“I really can’t say it’s a hard job, even though we do work hard, but it’s fun,” adds store employee Shelley Byers.
Much of the fun comes from all the community fundraising events held in the store over the years, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. Community members say Belliveau is very generous.
“Mike does everything,” says volunteer firefighter Bill Forbes. “Now, see we have $500 worth of groceries for the firemen, and he always lets us sell tickets here and he’s gonna be a big loss in the community.”
“It’s a two-way street. I mean, like I said, the community’s been so good to me,” Belliveau says. “I pass it on back, you know. Try to pay it forward in some cases.”
Belliveau expects the hardest part of the retirement will probably be when he comes back to visit the store. He’s worried he will feel the need to straighten up the shelves.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
