Two more businesses in Timmins closing

A local brewing company and an office supply store are the latest businesses in Timmins to reveal plans to close up shop in the northern Ontario city.

This comes on the heels of thrift store chain Value Village deciding weeks ago that it is closing this fall.

Staples' Timmins location announced just a couple days ago that it's closing at the end of July, after years of concerns over its fate.

The retail chain's head office didn't respond to inquiries about the reason for the closure or how many jobs will be affected.

Around the same time, Compass Brewing -- which opened only four years ago -- announced it's closing on July 31.

The brewery's owner said losing two key investors, one of them the brewer of his beers, marked a dreadful countdown.

Brewing, canning and selling the beers himself, Kevin Patriquin said he tried to stave off the inevitable.

Patriquin works full-time in the mining industry and told CTV News in an online message he is almost out of beer and is completely out of ingredients to brew more.

"There’s been a lack of sales in the last few months, as I've been running out of other styles of beer. With the lack of sales and beer, I can no longer afford to hang around and wait for investors. I have no choice to shorten my hours and lay off staff at month's end," he said.

The Timmins Chamber of Commerce said it's unfortunate to see both a corporate franchise and a small business announce their closure in the same week, ultimately succumbing to the pressures of the pandemic.

"Many businesses weren't able to absorb that or were on the edge of trying to absorb the loss of sales," said Rob Knox, the chamber president.

"You combine that, now, with increased cost of labor, supply chain shortages and the overall effect of inflation and just the way the economy is turning right now, equals a tough time for a lot of businesses in our community."

Knox said it's possible online retailers, local competition and city capacity could have contributed to these closures but the economy likely did the most damage.

Supporting local is the key right now, he added, saying people need to spend what they can afford at businesses they want to stick around.