Killarney Guide

BY KIM LANGEN

 A little bit of history was carefully transported out of town this week.

On Thursday, the old Janz’s Market on Main was painstakingly lifted up and away from its home on the corner of Broadway and Finlay. 

Once loaded, moving contractors Kola Building Movers, out of Austin, Manitoba, backed it up onto Finlay, followed by a tight turn down Broadway (the wrong way) heading north, and then east out of town and on to a new life in Austin.

The Janz’s building actually began life as the original Killarney Meats building, built back in 1987. Partners Sam Hicks and Ron Opperman opened it in July of 1987. 

It was constructed on the site of what was the original Killarney Guide office, which had been demolished a couple of years before. The aging newspaper office had operated in that location for nearly 100 years.

Brian Bernard, long-time employee and son-in-law to Sam Hicks, bought into the meat business in 1998 by purchasing Ron Opperman’s share in the venture.

“I had started in 1984 as an employee with Sam,” said Bernard. “I was 21, and I was trained there as a meat cutter and a butcher. In 1998, that’s when Sam and I became equal partners.”

In September of 2005 the store changed hands. Don and Colleen Farmer purchased the business from Brian and Kelly Bernard, and renamed it the Farmer’s Market. 

Bernard, who spent a total of 25 years in the butcher trade, from 1984 until 2009, said he still misses the days of preparing meat cuts and dealing with customers.

“I loved it,” he said. “I enjoyed the meat cutting aspect, and I loved becoming a business owner, and being my own boss, and enjoying our clientele. It gets into your blood.”

In 2011 it became Janz’s Market on Main, after Geoff and Kristen Janz purchased the business. Janz’s Market closed its doors in the fall of 2019, and was purchased by Chapman Motors.

This week, the guys with Kola Building Movers entered Killarney in order to prepare and shift the building from its corner location. 

It had been sold to a businessman in Austin, said Bob Chapman, and would be remodelled there into an office space. 

“Chapman Motors Ltd. will be cleaning up the site to make room for a larger vehicle display area, on the busiest corner in town,” said Chapman.

JANZ’S MARKET TAKES A TRIP – This was the mesmerizing Broadway scene on Thursday morning, just before 11 a.m., when Kola Building Movers began transporting the Janz’s Market on Main building through town. A semi (not visible) was backing up the loaded trailer on Finlay, towards Chapman’s – with just inches to spare – before making a right and travelling north on Broadway in the southbound lane. They then turned east on South Railway, and by 11:15 a.m. an elevated Janz’s was ready to head north on Highway 18 towards Austin, Manitoba. View videos of the event, along with more photos, below.

TIGHT TURN DOWN BROADWAY – It was super tight for space on Thursday morning as the old Janz’s Market building moved down Main Street (the wrong way) and out of town. Trevor Zacharias (foreground), of Kola Building Movers, carefully monitors the move, which took days of patient preparation.

BEAM ME UP – It takes days of preparation to move a building like Janz’s, including running the two main beams down the long way on the sides, along with plenty of cross bracing. Firm Foundations For You will now be using this building as an office in Austin, Manitoba.