MORE THAN JUST HOCKEY GEAR
New life for Amherstburg skate shop
The new operator of the skate shop at Amherstburg’s Libro Centre hopes to have it reopened by early next month.
Town council recently approved the business plan put forward by the owners of Nantais Athletics Inc. in Windsor.
“I’d like to be out there by Sept. 1 at least,” said Mike Morencie, who took over Nantais Sports Shop on Tecumseh Road West last fall along with partners Mike Urban and Joe Cleroux.
“We’re waiting on some legal paperwork from the Town of Amherstburg. It’s taken a touch longer than I thought.”
The arena’s skate shop shut down last March.
The owner of Amherstburg’s Canadian Tire franchise had operated the shop since the Libro Centre opened seven years ago, but the current franchisee informed the town he was no longer interested in a satellite location. “From an opportunity standpoint, it almost seemed too good not to get involved,” Morencie said of their interest.
“There’s not a real sports entity in a town that’s growing. It ticked off a lot of the boxes in that it’s a new facility, there was already good (customer) traffic flow and the price was right.” Morencie’s group signed a fiveyear lease with the town. He hopes to start stocking the shelves next week. Despite a tight floor plan of just 700-square-feet, the new owners plan to offer athletic apparel and equipment for baseball, soccer and football in addition to hockey. “It was basically a hockey pro shop before, we want it to be a full-service place,” Morencie said. “You won’t see racks and racks and racks of stuff because we just don’t have the space, but it’ll be more presentation and demonstration stuff. Most of what we stock will be here (in Windsor).”
In addition to offering a wider array of gear, the new operators plan to establish instructional camps in hockey, baseball, soccer and football.
“The camps are a priority for us,” Morencie said.
“Being active in the community is a major focus for us.” In particular, Morencie would like to develop interest in football to the point where the town can field its own minor league teams. He said Cleroux will manage the store while the shop’s previous skate technician, Marc Leblanc, has been retained to fill the same role.
“It’s definitely good news,” said Rick Daly, the town’s manager of recreation services. “The residents and users were really concerned there wasn’t going to be a skate shop.
“To get Mike and his expertise in some of the sports we’re trying to get coming to the Libro is very beneficial.”