After many decades of business, the owner of a Carbonear paint shop is ready to move on.
On April Fool’s Day in 1981, Ivan’s Paint Shop – owned and operated by Ivan Hiscock — moved from within the walls of the T.C. Square mall (the mall opened in 1979) to a new location on Water Street, where the business could operate from its own building. Since then, the shop has become a staple of business on Water Street, with a lengthy lifespan, and plenty of fond memories.
Sheldon Hiscock, Ivan’s son, has been there for the entire journey, starting from the beginnings of the shop, right up to its recent closure. In 2001, when Ivan passed away, Sheldon took it upon himself to pick up where his father left off, taking over the business to see his father’s hard work live on.
“You do what you have to do, you know? It was hard, and taking that on meant I had to learn a lot of new things, do a lot of new things, and just adjust to things I’d never really done before, and I had to do it quickly,” Sheldon said. “Things like doing the bookkeeping and all those parts of the business? I never really did much with that beforehand, but then I had to jump right into it. There was a learning curve, and I was a bit fearful at first, for sure. But, that’s what needed to be done.”
However, the shop continued to prosper over the years, and Sheldon spoke fondly of the past 17-years he’s spent running the shop on Water Street.
“Plenty of great, great memories there. It became a place for people to just drop by and have a chat, and have a laugh. Almost every day I had people coming through, and it was always a good time,” he said, noting in particular that it was a fairly common occurrence for people to stop by simply to have a gander at the old ’52 Buick he kept parked outside. “Of course, not everything about it was perfect, but those are the memories I’ll always cherish. The good days. The fun days.”
Now, 37-years since initially opening up, Sheldon has decided the shop’s time is up. However, this decision did not come from a place of malice or necessity, but rather a place of contentment.
“I just felt like it was time. I needed a change – something different. The opportunity arose to sell the building, and so I took it,” said Sheldon, who has yet to take a break, or vacation, the entire time he’s worked at the shop. “I’ve never really had the chance to go and experience anything new, or anything different.
“Now, I can do that, and that’s pretty much the jist of it. I don’t really know what exactly it is I want to go out and do, but at least I have the chance to do that now. The time for that part of my life has finally come.”
Meanwhile, the building that’s been the home of Ivan’s Paints for the last 37 years won’t be empty for long. It will soon be the new home of Pauline Yetman’s Hotline Café, which earlier this year was forced to move out of its previous Water Street location due to a building sale.
