After 88 years in business, Capital Iron closed its doors for the last time on Saturday.
For nearly a century, the locally owned and operated general store was a prime destination for Greater Victorians and tourists stopping throughout the downtown core.
Loyal shoppers over the years spent time reflecting on memories shared at the long-time business.
“We loved that store – back when it still had the really cool old stuff in the basement, etc. Also shopped often at the Sidney location and found all sorts of great stuff, from clothing to Japanese bowls and kitchen gadgets. Will really miss stopping there when we visit Victoria,” Betty K wrote on Victoria Buzz’s Facebook page.
For Ray M, Capital Iron represents an origin story for her family.
“My dad immigrated from England in 1958 and got his first job working for Mr. Greene at Capital Iron salvaging military assets,” Ray tells Victoria Buzz.
Originally founded in 1934, Capital Iron was a scrap store and ship dismantling business.
By 1971, the scraping days for the business were behind them with a new focus on retail.
Mike Black and his wife Evaline Black are the third generation of the family to be at the helm of the family business, along with their daughter Kylie Black.
While there were multiple Capital Iron stores in the region, the Sidney location shut its doors in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world.
And on Saturday, both the Langford location and the Store Street flagship of Capital Iron would be closed for good.
Almost 50 employees will be left unemployed as a result of the business closures.
The economic climate just became too much for the business to remain open for business and profitable.
In 2022 inflation has reached an all time high, supply chain issues have become the bane of the retail world’s existence and the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way any business operates on a day-to-day basis.
With yet another closure of a locally owned and operated company, how do you feel about the end of Capital Iron? Let us know in the comment section below.
With files from Curt Blandy
