A popular hunting and fishing shop in Moncton has announced it's closing for good, just three years after opening.
Cabela’s said Thursday it can better serve its customers from its Bass Pro location in Dieppe, N.B., and from its incoming Dartmouth location.
The closure is sad news to community members.
“We’ve been the snow contractor here since they opened, so when we heard the news this morning it was a big surprise,” says contractor Kevin Cox.
“I just found out from a guy in Riverview who ties flies and he got a thing on his phone saying it was closed immediately,” says customer Gary Titus.
Twenty-five people worked full-time at the store. The Cabela’s in Dartmouth – which has yet to open – will not be impacted by the closure in Moncton.
The company says it will offer the Moncton employees opportunities to work there, along with the Bass Pro Shop located in nearby Dieppe.
Bass Pro bought the Cabela’s company in October 2016.
Jim Cormier, Atlantic director for the Retail Council of Canada, says the writing may have been on the wall.
“Retail is not for the faint of heart,” he says. “When it comes to a big retail chain company like this, that has already purchased their competitor and now they're talking about closing down at least one of them where they have two stores, that's understandable.”
The company will begin decommissioning the building immediately. It could take until the end of March to complete.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
