A well-known Barrie furniture company with ties to Innisfil has officially closed its doors for good.
Munro’s Furnishings, which opened in Maple, Ont., in 1978, has been making and selling real wood furniture in Barrie since 2015 at its Bryne Drive store, as well as manufacturing site located at 87 Hooper Rd.
However, it has “ceased all operations” officially as of Tuesday, July 23, confirmed owner Jill Munro.
An emotional Munro told BarrieToday, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, it was a combination of challenging economic times along with a steep increase in rent for the Bryne Drive store that ultimately led to the closure.
“Our landlord on Bryne had sold their buildings and a new company came in … just after COVID(-19). With the original landlord my term had come up and … I was in month to month," she said.
Munro said her rent payments went from $6,000 to $14,000 per month.
“There was nothing I could do about it," she added.
Munro, who took over the store from her parents, said she couldn't communicate the impending closure to anyone until after “everything was official."
“Even the email that I sent out to customers … it was just getting overwhelming on my part with people calling and me not being able to say anything," she said. "Keeping things back from people is never the way I wanted to do anything.”
Munro also acknowledged that the closure has left several customers without their furniture.
“We did our best to get as much out as we could before we had to do this. There are, I think, six customers left that I wasn’t able to produce their furniture for. If they paid by credit card, they’re going to have to call their credit card company and they should be able to get their money back.”
An email to BarrieToday on Monday from Paul Pauze, a vice-president with GTDR Inc., which is a consumer proposal and bankruptcy services company, confirmed rumours that had been swirling online for the past few weeks that the store had closed, despite no official notice being posted on the store’s website or any of its social-media accounts.
“Please be advised that the above noted company has ceased all operations and is now insolvent. As a result of (the Canadian Revenue Agency) seizing the company bank account, it has become impossible to carry on doing business,” Pauze wrote in the email.
Pauze said all work that has been completed has been delivered to customers, but added it is now impossible for the company to complete any further work or access any further materials.
“As for any funds in the account, CRA has seized the account and the company no longer has access to the bank account or funds,” he said. “The company regrets any and all difficulties this may or has caused you, however, CRA has not given the company any other option but to terminate its operations.”
Munro wanted to extend her gratitude to the local community and its customers for all of the support they have provided over the last decade.
“We’ve made a lot of friendships … and a lot of these customers have known me since I was like three or four when we first moved to Innisfil,” she said. “It’s not easy, but the community has been supportive.
"Even when we were trying to run the closing sales … people were saying they liked supporting solid wood, but unfortunately there’s not enough people to support it with all the big box stores that have taken over," Munro added.
Munro told BarrieToday she had to cash in her personal mutual funds in order to ensure that her staff’s salary and vacation pay was covered.
“I have had some of my staff for like 40 years,” she said through tears. “Some of them have been there as long as me.”
