A couple who has recently made Kamsack their home has opened the doors to a new business on Kamsack鈥檚 main street in what is still remembered by many as the 鈥渇ormer SaskPower building.鈥�
AJ鈥檚 Trading Post, operated by Anne McKenzie and James Keshane, held its opening day on March 17 when they provided coffee, juice, doughnuts and popcorn at no charge.
鈥淥ur first day was better than I expected. A lot of people stopped in to look around,鈥� said McKenzie.
鈥淲e have a good inventory on hand. We purchased about 80 per cent of Eugene Tataryn鈥檚 inventory, and on opening day he came into the store and bought back some things,鈥� said Keshane with a chuckle, making reference to the man who had previously operated a business known as Penny鈥檚 Liquidation for over two years in the same spot, but closed his doors recently.
鈥淜arla鈥檚 Auction House of Springside was also a good source for much of our inventory,鈥� he said.
The couple moved to the area in July of 2017, when Anne was employed by H and M Management and began working at the Keeseekoose Store, which is a gas station/convenience store. That arrangement ended, and beause the couple both liked the area so much they decided to stay in Kamsack and open their own business.
Keshane is originally from Keeseekoose First Nation and McKenzie is from LaRonge. They now live in Kamsack and have four children.
The couple鈥檚 three-year-old daughter, Annika Jocelyn, is the inspiration for the initials in the name AJ鈥檚 Trading Post, even though, coincidentally Anne and James are also AJ. Their three other children are Naomi, 18; Boyce, 15 and Ron, 10.
For the couple, starting and operating a business in Kamsack has been a positive experience.
鈥淲hen we started looking for a location for our business we had lots of help from others in town to find a location to set up,鈥� said McKenzie.
鈥淚nitially we wanted the business to be a pawn shop, but we encountered issues. We are continuing to work out these issues and will hopefully be running as a pawn shop in six months.鈥�
Right now the store is stocked with both new and used items for sale.
鈥淲e spent three weeks getting everything ready and setting up our displays after Penny鈥檚 closed down. We purchased some of our display cabinets from Yorkton and some from Saskatoon,鈥� said Keshane, gazing at the neatly arranged rows of items on display throughout the store.
鈥淭here haven鈥檛 been any major challenges associated with setting up the store, but I had to make some compromises with Anne when it came to finding a place for things in the store. Anne usually gets her way,鈥� he said with a smile.
The business will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays.
