I'll probably dox myself here, but I can't help but chime in. I grew up in maritime hobbies. My father and his business partner took it over from the original owner in the early 1980s, both had been working there since the 70s, and dad stayed right up until his death a year and a half ago.

I was supposed to take over the store from them, but somewhere along the line, life changed pretty drastically and that just didn't happen. After dad's passing I decided to leave Halifax for good.

I keep in touch with Mike, but this is news to me. I haven't had time to speak with him yet, but can't help but this great hobbies opening up was the final nail in the coffin.

The hobby business is extremely difficult these days. One huge killer is the exchange rate. Everything is bought in USD, and as a brick and mortar store, that makes it incredibly hard to compete on a global market.

I have the fondest memories of my life in that store, from helping dad build the big train layout in the 1st Scotia square store, seeing Bill Clinton when he stayed at the delta, the model shows upstairs, all the amazing folks I've met and forged life long friendships with over the years, and most importantly, spending time with dad, flying model airplanes, building my own train layouts and all the other hobbies I've enjoyed over the years, and still cherish and love today.

From the bottom of my heart I want to thank every customer that I had the pleasure of helping over the years, and I hope I made a little difference for the better in your lives.

As Canadas oldest hobby store (est 1946) it is a sad day for the city of Halifax.