What makes a local business? For owner of store destroyed by arson, it's all about community

The shock and dread Maggie MacTavish felt as she watched smoke billow out of her downtown Fredericton sporting-goods store Tuesday night has turned to a feeling of hope.

"I can't even count the people that have reached out, like, just to help us with anything we need — cleaning, babysitting my daughter, like, just crazy stuff," said MacTavish.

"I know that we're not going to be going at it alone."

The store has been a fixture in Fredericton for 56 years.

A 49-year-old man has been charged with arson and breach of probation after a fire caused extensive damage to the inventory section of the building and smoke damage to everything else.

MacTavish, the co-owner of the Queen Street shop, said she always knew they had a loyal customer base because of how long it's been around, but she said with the changing owners over the years — despite staying in the family — it's nice to see that people still view it the same. 

"Sometimes I get lost in that it's just my job and I'm working there day to day, but when I think about it, like, every day, I'm working with my friend Robbie, who's one of my best friends growing up," said MacTavish, speaking about the shop's co-owner.

"My uncle Ace, our friend Chris … every day I'm kind of hanging out with people that I'm friends with and family with, and all the customers, like, we do get new ones, obviously, but a lot of them, we see weekly, daily, and you get to know them really well. 

MacTavish's will continue

After talking to their insurance company, and hearing the overwhelming support from the community, MacTavish said the store will go on.

That was something that was clear to her not even 24 hours after the fire. 

MacTavish still needs to get more information about the building itself, and her goal would be to stay in the same spot, but that is still up in the air. In the meantime, they are looking for a temporary spot, hopefully still in the downtown area — which she says has a particular community feel.

WATCH | 'We're very sure we'll be back,' says store co-owner:

Community support has sparked hope for MacTavish family after store fire

27 days ago

Duration 1:43

It's been an emotional roller-coaster for the MacTavish family, owners of MacTavish Source for Sports in Fredericton, after their store was damaged by fire this week. However, support from the community is giving the family peace of mind.

"I know lots of the other business owners on a personal level, like, we play sports with them … and we all shop around as well. I just think you don't get that feeling elsewhere," she said.

"It's proven by how many of them have reached out to me in the last few days with just offers of help and words of encouragement."

While a temporary location is still in the works, all of the store's inventory was destroyed, except for a few things stored off site. 

She said MacTavish's still has "something cooking" for the Buster Harvey Memorial Tournament, an annual peewee AAA hockey event that starts on Nov. 8, and some big-ticket Christmas items were spared in the off-site stock. 

Until the inventory is fully replenished, MacTavish said, there will still be gift cards available once the payment system is up and running, which she expects will be popular based on the support from the community so far. 

Since the fire, she's been seeing posts and messages on social media of people sharing stories about buying their first pair of skates and the kindness they experienced from staff while shopping there.

The support has been a bright spot in a dark few days for the MacTavish family.

"My mom doesn't have Facebook, so I actually got her set up so she could see all the comments, and she was just blown away," said MacTavish.

"She remembers all these people from years ago … so it's special to hear all the different views that you don't necessarily think about until you hear them in a situation like this."