In 1921, Nicholas Joseph and his wife Elizabeth Hampton built the first store in the Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach. Then Alice and Nicholas Saffie, originally from Lebanon, bought it in 1933. When it burned two years later, the community helped to rebuild it in the middle of winter. The store carried a wide range of goods, from horse harnesses to barrels of apples to a well-stocked meat counter.
When the Saffies retired, their son Leonard took over and renamed the store Len’s Fine Fare. Then daughter Jeanette operated the store as of 1978, selling it to Herb and Jan Harbour in 1985, ending 52 years of Saffie ownership. In 2007, current owners Lise and Jerry Bourassa tore down the old building and built the current structure.
Saffie’s Store (May 2020)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.68067, W96.51540
denoted by symbol on the map above
“History Hunt 100: Clues to 100 Years of History throughout Victoria Beach,” Rural Municipality of Victoria Beach, 2019.
This page was prepared by Rose Kuzina.
Page revised: 28 November 2020
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