Duane Hicks
The name “Bonnie Blue” won’t be seen on Scott Street in the near future as the business will be changing hands as of March 31.
Barb Stainke, who has operated the business since 1999, said it will be leased by Mike Schmid of Sunset Supplements.
And while it still will be a lottery and movie outlet, with possible expansion to other areas down the road, it will be under a new name.
Stainke decided to leave the business because she would like to spend more time with her family, and has minor health problems that need to be dealt with.
She said she’ll miss to the day-to-day interaction with her customers.
“When you come into the Bonnie Blue, you might come in feeling like a customer but you leave feeling like you’re family,” Stainke remarked.
She also said it’s a bit sad to retire the name “Bonnie Blue,” which the business has gone under since 1970, and that she has fond memories of it, as do many others.
Stainke even joked that before anyone asks, she is not selling the distinctive round red chairs from the original business.
“It’s been a pleasure. I am going to miss the clientele here,” she stressed. “It’s almost like the ‘Cheers’ bar.
“The tables here are all put together because no one uses them when they’re apart.
“It’s a very unique situation,” she added. “We’ve had potluck dinners here.
“And I think it’s going to carry on.”
Stainke thanked her friends and customers for their support over the years, and hoped they continue to support the new owner coming in.
“My adventure is only beginning,” she remarked.
The Bonnie Blue has changed over the past 13 years—from a bakery/restaurant to lottery and movie store—and Stainke said it was just a business decision she had to make.
“You can do many things mediocre or one thing really well, and we decided to one thing really well,” she noted.
“Unfortunately, food was the one thing we ended giving up to do lottery well.”
Stainke said she’s learned plenty about the lottery over the years, and even has become something of an authority on the matter.
She added that if she had chosen to stay with the business, she was going to team up with a CTV reporter and do a blog regarding lottery regulations.
“I honestly believe there needs to be a challenge to the lottery system by the lottery retailers,” Stainke said.
“That the government itself is not regulating it the way they should be, and they don’t know what the right questions are to ask.
“Do I believe in the integrity of the lottery system? Yes, I do,” she stressed. “Is the consumer protected? Yes, they are.
“Unfortunately, the retailers are not,” Stainke added, noting that, among other things, retailers are restricted as to whether they can play the lottery.
And if they do win, they are investigated—even if they bought the ticket at a location other than their own outlet.
