After 11 years in business, Stokes Furniture appears to have closed its doors at Tillicum Centre, a move that has left at least one Victoria family upset and in disbelief.
The lights have been off and doors locked at the store for the last couple of days, with a handwritten note on the door saying “closed for inventory.” Inside, there is no activity, while a larger sign says there’s a closing sale on.
The phone is not being answered and the website has gone dark.
And that has Melanie Kilpatrick upset, and out about $400.
“By all the looks of things, they are having some business troubles,” she said.
Kilpatrick said she’s unhappy that the store has her money, but she didn’t get her furniture. About six weeks ago the Kilpatricks paid cash for a dresser and mirror for their daughter’s room. It was to be at the store in three weeks.
When it wasn’t, Kilpatrick was told that it was due to a trucker’s strike holding up deliveries.
“But then, we swung by the store [Monday] and they were dark and there was that hand-scrawled sign saying they were doing inventory,” she said. “We’ve done a lot of [business] with them over the years because they were locally owned. It’s disappointing to get a dark website and the phones just ring.”
Attempts to contact anyone at the store were unsuccessful Tuesday.
RioCan, which owns and manages Tillicum Centre, could only say the doors at Stokes were closed.
Stokes opened its Tillicum Centre location in 2003.
Stokes started in Vancouver 36 years ago and moved to the Island 23 years ago with a main store in Courtenay and a smaller location in Campbell River’s Co-op store. Both of those locations appear to now be closed.
