Pandemic forces permanent closure of Trinos Menswear

There is now one less place to shop for high-end men’s clothing in Moose Jaw, after the pandemic forced the closure of Trinos Menswear on High Street West. The company announced its closure online recently, while it also cleared out its storefront in less than a day.

Trina Johnson, owner of Trinos Menswear, thought it was an awful and difficult decision to permanently close her Moose Jaw location. However, since no customers could shop there or at the Regina location, she hired a truck to clear out the store since there was no point to keep inventory here.

This is a permanent closure, she confirmed. She was originally optimistic about remaining here and even put “temporarily closed” on a sign on the front door. However, as the pandemic progressed, she didn’t see the situation improving. So, she decided to focus on maintaining her

Regina location and keeping the overall business afloat.

Johnson’s son, Keaton, was the assistant store manager in Moose Jaw and lived above the store, so he was sad to leave, she said. Both of them loved the community — she is from here — and the support residents had shown since the store opened last April. Johnson also praised store manager Kim Martin for her leadership.

With the amount of debt Johnson is accumulating to keep her business going, it is going to take her a while to catch up financially, she said. Since many businesses are in a tough position, she predicts that growth will be slower in the future. This makes it difficult to consider reopening here.

“It’s sad … This thing (the pandemic) is going to take longer than I thought,” she chuckled. “I really hope that every small business can survive this and people come together to do everything they can to help … to keep everyone afloat so these small businesses don’t disappear.”

Trinos Menswear on High Street West is now permanently closed. Photo by Jason G. Antonio