Quonley’s, a fixture as a 24-hour convenience store at the corner of Fisgard and Government streets in Chinatown for decades, has closed its doors.
Most recently known as Quonley’s Gifts & Grocery, it was listed in city directories as far back as the 1930s, said Charlayne Thornton-Joe, a former city councillor who now works at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Fan Tan Alley.
“I think a lot of people think this is the sort of demise or end of Chinatown,” Thornton-Joe said. “But we still have fabulous shops and fabulous restaurants in Chinatown, so there’s still a lot worth going there for.”
Thornton-Joe said when she began looking into the store’s history because of the closure, she discovered she has family connections to it.
During a visit with her 91-year-old uncle this week, he told her he worked there as a 12-year-old in 1944 for 25 cents an hour.
Quonley’s was open 24 hours long before any 7-Elevens or other similar stores were around in the city, Thornton-Joe said.
“People remember that if you forgot something for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner, you would head down to Quonley’s,” she said. “If you got off work late or needed something in a hurry you would go to Quonley’s.”
When the store first opened, it had pinball machines and penny-slot machines, Thornton-Joe said.
“The 90-year-olds remember that. Pop was six cents, sundaes were 15 cents and a pack of cigarettes was 30 cents.”
In later years, a TV-repair shop was located in the basement, which drew people without TVs to come in and watch the sets that had been fixed, she said.
“Apparently the show at the time was The $64,000 Question — they all sat and watched that.”
Still later, Quonley’s became the place to buy fireworks.
Thornton-Joe doesn’t know where the name Quonley’s came from, but estimates the store had about four owners through the years.
Thornton-Joe said the store site could be a location for the Chinese Canadian Museum, but it would require considerable renovation, and Fan Tan Alley already provides a great setting.
“My hope is that whatever goes there will honour Chinatown and perhaps even keep the name or keep some of the signage.”
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