Chris Doering added a report about an old hotel in rural Alberta to a mounting record of abandoned mom-and-pop establishments and other buildings from the 1900s that he documents on his website.
Acme Inn, Jack’s Shoe Store, Sam’s Service Station—places like these are fading fast from existence, Doering tells The Epoch Times. Doering’s hobby project probing into old businesses began 30 years ago. It became a job in recent years when companies started seeking him to investigate the histories of commercial buildings.
He believes the classic, old-fashioned corner store will probably never return.
“You can’t beat a large corporation,” Doering says. “A mom-and-pop store versus a chain store—they’ve got all the buying power and the convenience and that kind of stuff.”…