Earth's General Store closes its doors after 30 years in business

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After more than three decades, a Whyte Avenue organic grocery store is closing up shop.

Michael Kalmanovitch, founder of Earth’s General Store, recently announced the closure of the eco-store staple that has been around for more than three decades. Located on the south side of Whyte Avenue just west of 96 Street, the store was founded on principles that were different from other stores, emphasizing justice, respect, and bolstering a community devoted to an environmentally conscious way of living. At the centre of the store and its principles, Kalmanovitch reflected on its 33-year run and the impact that the store has had.

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“That was the whole thing, was to create this community, and we were successful in that,” said Kalmanovitch, who first started hosting workshops to help educate people on ways to incorporate environmentally conscious living habits into their lives.

“One of the things I noticed was that people were hungry to find and access information and products to allow themselves to lessen their impact on the environment,” said Kalmanovitch.

Taking note of the level of interest, Kalmanovitch looked for a way to help educate more people.

“When you do a workshop, people have to come to you, but everybody goes out shopping, right?”

The store opened in 1991, offering a broad variety of resources for eco-conscious consumers. He classified it as a “general store” so that he could keep his options open to sell whatever he wanted — all with the Earth in mind. It had shoes made without sweat labour, cloth diapers, organic clothing, and a small library of magazines offering tips and tricks for environmental living. It also had refills for household cleaners like detergent, making it perhaps one of the earliest, if not the first, refiller in the city.

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Kalmanovitch said food is the No. 1 way humans impact the environment, adding that a plant-based diet was much better for the environment than what has come to be known as the standard American diet. With that in mind, he wanted to offer food options in the store but he said it came with a hefty price tag.

“Going into food is very, very expensive, and I only had $7,000 to start.”

By 2010, the store had evolved into an organic food store and Kalmanovitch said they had dropped some of their other offerings, but continued to have refills for household cleaners, which was important to him.

“The focus of the store was to reduce the waste stream at the front end rather than the back end.”

For a price, the store would refill cleaners, rather than force consumers to discard bottles after use and contribute more waste. The store also offered what Kalmnovitch referred to as a”feebate” program for bags.

“You would be charged five cents if you used one of our containers or bags, whether it’s paper or plastic, but you got five cents credit if you brought your own.”

‘I didn’t start the store to make money’

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While the contemporary shopper is familiar with a bag fee, Earth General Store’s early adoption of the program made it a leader, just as it led with organic foods and refills. The forward-thinking approach to the store made it stand out from others, which was exactly Kalmanovitch’s intent. His goal was also to create a community that was as invested in the environment as he was.

“The difference about Earth’s General Store and going to Superstore is that at Earth’s General Store, you have a conversation.”

“I made it a point that there’s more staff than we need, so that everybody’s not just rushing around, you know, working for the man, and that they can slow down and actually talk with our community members.”

He said the store hasn’t always been the most lucrative venture for him, but that didn’t affect his goal of starting it.

“I didn’t start the store to make money and I haven’t — not that that’s a proud thing or anything like that. It’s just that people get into business quite often to create wealth for themselves. My goal was to create wealth for the community and for the planet, and I’ve succeeded in that.”

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Kalmanovitch stepped away from the business in 2022 to take a trip, which is when a non-profit group was created to take over the store.

“I’m not going to nay-say them or anything like that. It was not successful. And so we’re at this point now that the store needs to close,” said Kalmanovitch.

After a gutsy 33-year run, the store will close its doors for the last time on Sunday. Kalmanovitch offered a few parting words for his loyal customers; for his community.

“I love you, and thank you very much for being part of that journey.”

zdelaney@postmedia.com

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