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Date: 10/31/2018
WEST SPRINGFIELD – A few blocks down from the post office, sits a quaint mom-and-pop-style liquor store known for its warm staff and significant role in West Side history. Trips to the Elm Market & Package Store have been a part of a daily routine for many, and after 60 years of thriving business, the store has closed its doors for good.
Owner Walter Rickus formally shut down his family-run store – which offered a selection of liquor, groceries and cigarettes – on Oct. 28. He will continue to own the building, he explained, and plans on leasing the space out to prospective candidates. Although the parcel’s liquor license will no longer exist, Rickus told Reminder Publishing he hopes the future tenants will seek to preserve the aura of the store.
“If I had it my way, I would love to see somebody come in here and continue to run it as a little store like this – maybe, put in a deli, or if there was ever a beer and wine license available they could have beer and wine and a little selection of groceries,” he said. “What I don’t want is something that’s probably going to be open until early in the morning and late at night, because we live upstairs.”
Since the 1950s, Rickus’ family has been providing residents with access to great conversation, liquor, lottery tickets, cigarettes and groceries – and at one point, even a deli and a butcher’s shop. His father originally purchased the store in 1958. His mother, Helen Lavoie, took it over after he passed.
“When my husband died, I thought, ‘what does a woman with three kids do?’ I’d been a housewife up until then,” said Lavoie. “When I inherited the store, I had something to do – and I did make a living. I was able to send the kids to college and do those things for them that they should have done.”
Rickus later stepped in as the final store-owner, keeping the store relevant and afloat for many years. Rickus attributed the store’s charm and allurement to its cozy and personal style, relating it to an “old, comfortable shoe you can depend on.”
The store’s character was small and inviting, and littered with personal touches – including its famous Halloween decorations for the month of October. The store not only depended on the community to survive, but also gave back to West Springfield in meaningful ways, such as providing a space for familiarity, comfort and human connection.
Kim Lessard, who had been an employee at Elm Market & Package Store for nearly 12 years, echoed Rickus’ sentiments. She explained the customers and employees were like family members.
“We make them [the customers] comfortable, it feels like home,” she said. “They all come in for their own reasons and we’ve all gotten to be good friends with everybody. It’s like being a good friend with your next-door neighbor. Most of them come in two or three times a day.”
But because all good things must come to an end, Rickus said he finally reached a point where he felt like it was time to retire.
The 72-year-old expressed that although there was no “one reason” he decided to close the store, he is happy he is closing it on good terms.
“I’m proud to own my own business. I love talking to people, and it’s so funny because everyone that comes in here is different and we have all kinds of conversations every day,” he said. “I have no regrets, if I could do it again, I would. I enjoyed running the store – we’re not rich, but we made a comfortable living and we’re leaving on good terms. The store is doing well, but there just comes a time where it has to end.”
The mother-and-son-duo currently live in the pale-yellow apartments above the store, and plan on spending the next few months in Lavoie’s Florida home.
Since announcing the closing of the store, Rickus said he has received an outpour of support and praise from former and current customers, including out-of-state voicemails thanking him for his service. He said he had “no idea that [we] had an impact on people like that” and that he thinks the outreach has been flattering.
“I’m going to miss it,” said the store owner. “I was shocked at the attention we’ve gotten from the customers coming in here and wishing us well – it’s really flattering. It makes you feel like you shouldn’t go.”
While it is truly the end of an era, Rickus said he’s looking forward to having more time to focus on his mother’s health and having some free time in his next chapter.
“Depending on my mood, one minute I’m excited and then I’m apprehensive,” he said. “There’s the fear of the unknown. Part of me is sad about it because it’s something I’ve done for so long – all my life.”