Sudbury's Sunbeam Meat Market closing shop after 85 years

David Daoust has been cutting meat for more than three decades, but at the end of the week, he'llput away his butcher's knifeand moveon to something else.

The shop he owns in Sudbury, Ont., is closing, marking the end of an era for a store that has been a staple in the Flour Mill community for more than eight decades.

"I've got kind of an empty feeling," said Daoust, who has owned Sunbeam Meat Market for 12 years.

Daoust knows the news of the store closing has been a "major disappointment" for many customers, but said he can't afford to make major upgrades that would be needed to meet provincial regulations for smoking meat something he said would cost around $300,000.

A community fixture

The store's closure will mark the end of an era for customers who have been buying smoked and fresh cuts of meat for decades.

Aline Blais and her husband Georges began as customers, regularly buying beef from the shop. In 1985, Georges started working at Sunbeam. Aline said her late husband had the title of "sausage maker" and ended up working for the shop for 30 years, with four different owners.

"He was happy there, and when you're happy at your work, well everything else is good," Blais said.

"It made for a happy home."

Monique Legault, a loyal customer for about 15 years, also has happy memories of the store. Her loyalty began following an act of kindness from the owner at the time, in the early 2000s.

Legault, an artist, was struggling to make ends meet and had little money left after paying her rent and bills, so she stopped by Sunbeam to buy $6 worth of ground beefto add to a can of soup for dinner.

"Instead of giving me the ground beef, he gave me two of the biggest pork chops I've ever seen. And I went home and cooked them that day, and I'll tell you it's been one of those memories that has forever stuck with me," Legault said.

"You only get that kind of kindness from local. There's not a big box store out there that's going to look at you like you could be helping, and the kindness in that man's eye's itwasan incredible experience."

'To re-imagine the shop would be too much'

According to Daoust, the provincial rules for smoking meat have been on the books since 2001. He said he's spent close to $100,000 on upgrades over the past decade, but has continued to operate despite not meeting the full requirements. However, after a recent visit from public health, he was no longer willing to risk being fined.

He said for the past month, he's been selling only fresh cuts of meat, but has seen his business go down by more than half.

"This place has been known for the smokies and the kielbasa, and for me to reimagine the shop would be too much."