TIMMINS -- To this day, Darren Taylor's forefathers are still a part of the Steinberg & Mahn's men's clothing store in downtown Timmins. Photographs of them hang behind the cash counter as a reminder of how far the business has come.
Taylor's great grandfather, Max Steinberg, opened 'Steinberg & Mahn' over a hundred years ago-before the Great Depression and the Second World War.
Taylor is now weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. He told CTV News it's sometimes a struggle to get inventory, but regardless, the shop still stands at its original address.
"People like that we fuss over them and we’re more than just a business, customer relationship, we’re friends," he said.
Now, after one-hundred and two years, the store is ready to evolve again.
“We had to," he said.
For the first time, the business will have a second address. This time, it will be online.
Taylor is one of five small business owners in the city to receive funding from a Timmins Chamber of Commerce program.
"We awarded five businesses with two-thousand dollar micro grants in order for them to improve their online presence and in order to make that business shift, considering the times we find ourselves in," said Melanie Verreault, president of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber itself also received some money to improve its online business directory.
“In partnership with Norcat and Digital Mainstreet we were able to take some funds ... to offer micro-websites to the smallest businesses in our community."
Verreault said work on expanding the business directory will begin this summer and members should let the Chamber know what information they want shared on their micro websites.
