After 100 years serving as a cornerstone of the Dorset community, Robinson’s General Store is changing hands.
Effective at the start of May, the Robinson family will no longer be the owners of the venerable shopping destination and community hub.
“My daughter took over 29 or 30 years ago and now she’s ready to get out. I’m 85 years old now and I was ready to get out,” said Brad Robinson, who took over the store from his father and has worked there for most of his life.
Brad said there was initially some trepidation among his regular customers and the community at large about the sale but the reassurances of the new owners have set people’s minds at ease.
The new owners are Mike and Katie Hinbest, who formerly operated a NAPA Auto Parts location in Orangeville. They recently moved to Huntsville with their two children and purchased Robinson’s along with the Old Mill Marina, also located in Dorset.
“We’re very excited to be a part of the Dorset community,” said Mike when he was officially unveiled as the new owner last week. “We want to let everyone know that the store is 100 per cent here to stay. The staff are here to stay and most importantly the traditions Robinson’s has in the community for the last 100 years are what we look to build upon and hopefully be a part of our family for the next 100 years.”
Robinson’s General Store actually consists of a menagerie of different departments sprawling over some 14,000 square feet. The store sells everything from footwear and clothing to gifts and souvenirs, and incorporates a Food Town supermarket and a Home Hardware location.
It’s a far cry from the original Robinson’s which was 25 ft by 50 ft and mostly catered to the needs of loggers in the area when it opened in 1921. The store was originally opened by Brad’s parents Harry and Marguerite Robinson, who both worked in the store right up until their deaths in 1975 and 1976 respectively.
A young Brad Robinson stands out front of Robinson’s with his father, Harry Robinson, and a customer in the 1940s. (submitted)
“When I was 20 years-old I wasn’t sure what I was going to do,” Brad recalls. “I was offered a job working for the Hudson’s Bay Company because I had so much experience at the store buying and selling from fur trappers but my wife really didn’t want to go any further north.”
Instead, his father offered him the general store and suggested a process of gradual expansion. After World War II the number of cottages in the area had exploded and his father could see which way the wind was blowing.
“That was really the way to do it,” said Brad, in reference to the 14 additions they made over the years. “You don’t build a church for Easter Sunday.”
In 1991 Brad’s daughter Joanne returned to the store after having moved away for a period and this time brought her husband Willie and their son Ryan, who would go on to be the fourth generation of the Robinson family to work in the store when he started part-time.
(Submitted by Robinson’s General Store)
Brad said the process of selling the business was a diligent one as they worked with their real estate agent to find just the right buyer.
They now feel like they found a good match and Joanne will stay on beyond the official ownership change for the next five months to help with the transition.
As for Brad, he plans to spend time working on his cottage in the Haliburton region this summer and, “maybe even go for a canoe ride.”
Nonetheless, he’s still been invited by the new owners to pop in whenever he likes and keep in touch with the countless friends he’s made over a lifetime spent at Robinson’s General Store.
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Home, that is the best description of Robinson’s General Store.
Since the early 60’s my family have been customers, it’s not your usual Store.
It’s familiar and a consent part of our lives, it’s home!
Our family has been coming to Robinsons for generations and love its special and friendly character and many diverse offerings all in one place. Thank you to the Robinson family for your excellent creative contributions to the community; and welcome to the new owners!
I have been a customer of this store since I can remember. A long, long time!!
It is amazing what you can find in this place, especially in the hardware department, where despite the limited floor space they seem to have at least one of nearly everything and sometimes they are the only place that has something you “just need to have”.
I wish Brad and family a happy retirement and look forward to meeting the new owners this summer
I have been a customer of the store going back to the late ’60s and it was always a great experience to wander through and buy things I really did not need, but what the heck there were just so many unique items I could not find at my usual stores. I took may a guest out to look around and maybe grab a Dorset Mink (lumber jacket) while they were there. I was so disappointed when the store did the big expansion, I wish they had left the original store the way it was and made the grocery store separate, but I know change is always inevitable. I live in a 120-year-old heritage farm home so I know the importance of keeping this store intact for future generations to understand the way things were when the region was growing up. The store has real value to the community. Good luck to the new owners, please don’t modernize the old section, that would be a big sad mistake.
We love this store my husband stops in every Mother’s Day wknd to buy me a gift and has gone done in the fall to buy me moccasins and muklucs. We have visited several times and will again . Please do not change the quality or prices , such a beautiful place to shop! We live in North Bay and nothing compares to your store.
My in-laws Lloyd and Polly Green, Baysville and Hardwood Lake, were friends and clients of Robinson’s. All of our family have had a long association with Brad. Enjoy a rest Brad, you have earned it. All the best to the new owners.
Brad is the consummate businessman, and a generous gentleman as well. Our area has been enriched by having him and his family running this very successful collection of stores which many villages would love to have close at hand. Thank you for all you have done Brad.