Verona’s Brooks IGA changes hands

Bev, Graham and Glenn Brooks’ final day at Brooks IGA in Verona

Just before midnight on February 20, a final inventory was taken at the Brooks’ IGA in Verona, when the four-decade-old family business which employs close to 50 staff officially changed hands.

Rumors of the new ownership had been circulating for months and ended when Brooks’ founders Glenn and Edith Brooks of Verona, along with their son Graham and his wife Bev, the current owners, made the official announcement to staff on Feb.11 that the business had been sold.

The Brooks’ family business began in 1970 as a husband and wife partnership when Glenn and his wife Edith purchased Revell’s Marketeria in Verona, which was located in the building that now houses Rona Hardware. Glenn was the president and manager and Edith was secretary/treasurer.

They originally operated the business as a general store. According to Glenn Brooks they sold “pretty much everything you could think of including coal oil by the gallon, clothing, cement, feed, hardware, and fishing tackle."

Business grew steadily over the years; the name changed from Revell’s to Brooks and the store underwent a number of major renovations, the first coming in 1975. The business was incorporated in 1978 and became an IGA in 1979.

Glenn and Edith’s son Graham moved from Oshawa to Kingston to join the family business in 1984. Ten years later in 1994 the business moved to its current location on Road 38.

“The lot was a barren field,” Glenn recalled, “which was going to be sold as a subdivision in a deal that ultimately fell through.”

This allowed him to purchase the property and build the 16,000 square foot store that now houses the business.

Glenn and Edith officially retired in 1997 and that year Graham and Bev took over the store with Glenn and Edith staying on as directors.

In 2003 they were given the go ahead to open the LCBO Agency store, which boosted traffic throughout the store and provided a steady flow of customers.

I spoke to Graham and Glenn at the store’s main office on Saturday just prior to the official take over that evening and understandably their moods seemed bittersweet.

Glenn said, “I have mixed feelings really. It will definitely be a load off our backs in a way but it also marks the end of a life devoted to helping people and providing a service to the community for close to 40 years, which was something we really enjoyed and will definitely miss. We were strangers coming into the community but were quickly accepted.”

Graham said, “My parents have been officially retired for a while, and Bev and I are now of the age to retire and the opportunity just seemed to present itself.”
Both Glenn and Graham and their spouses will be sad to let go of the business, which for them has become an extension of their family, but they are confident that it is passing into trustworthy hands.

The new owners, Clint and Andrea Reid, have run an IGA in Omemee, near Peterborough, for 10 years and although they are new to the community, they are very much aware of and respectful of the loyalty that the Brooks’ family business has generated in the community, both from customers and staff.

The Brooks family made provisions in the formal deal to protect the jobs of staff including their tenure, seniority, and benefits, which Glenn said was very much appreciated by staff members, and which they were greatly relieved to hear.

Customer service manager, Linda Conners of Verona, has worked at the store for over 23 years. She spoke with emotion: “I’m really going to miss the Brooks family; they’re really good people and are my friends and they were so family oriented."

The store’s meat manager Bruce Hannah, who has worked at the store for 18 years, was relieved to find out that his and other staff members’ jobs have been secured. “In this day and age particularly, it’s a great relief and I really feel that the Brooks family has made every effort to look out for us.” As far as coming under new ownership, he spoke philosophically, “Change can be scary but it can also be exciting too.”

The Brooks are confident that the store will be in good hands and no doubt they will continue to bring their business there - from the customer side of the counter.

The Brooks family wishes to thank all their customers from far and wide who have supported them so loyally over the last four decades.