Burden's General Store
Graham Burden is the owner of Burden’s General Store in the town of St.
Lunaire on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. He started the business
around 1959 as a way to support his family without having to move to a different
town or another province. He thought it would be easier to start his own
business so that’s what he did.
Things were not easy in the beginning. The business began in a tiny building
that was referred to as "the bunkhouse", and measured approximately
10' x 20'. This small structure and $1500 was all that Mr. Burden had to start
the business but he managed to get it off the ground.
At first only he and his wife Valma worked there, but as the children got
older, they began to work there as well. Today, eight of the nine children work
in some aspect of the business, so it goes without saying that this is a family
business.
With time comes change and this was true with this particular business. In
the 1970's, Mr. Burden began buying fresh and salt fish. Eventually he started
the trucking branch of his business, this led to the creation of more new jobs
such as truck drivers, forklift drivers, and loaders/un-loaders. Before the
trucking started there were many people already working at the government wharf,
so with the addition of the trucking business the wharf became an even busier
place.
Expansions were eventually made to the store itself. The business that began
in a 10' x 20' shack was now being run in a building measuring 45' x 80'. This
larger building allowed the storage of more goods for customers, and at a more
convenient location than the older store.
The expansion was necessary in order to allow him to go further in his
business and to become more prosperous. The changes brought about more business
and therefore would allow even more expansion.
In 1999, an ice plant was constructed near the government wharf in order to
alleviate the critical shortage of ice and the need to travel long distances to
get it. This opened seven more job opportunities for the business. But that was
most likely the last expansion that will be made to his business for quite a
while. He has no plans to increase the size of his business any larger than it
currently is.
Today the store sells everything from groceries to electrical products to
paint. Most business comes from the local area but occasionally some orders are shipped to
various parts of Labrador and boats that dock in the area often place orders for
supplies at the store.
When asked if he would make any changes to his business and how it turned
out, he
simply replies "No." He seems comfortable at the way his business
has grown and developed, and wouldn’t change anything about it.
He says the most satisfying thing about owning your own business is that you
can be your own boss, you make the decisions and choose how things are to be
done. This has apparently proved successful for him.
