Skateboarding shop closes Saint John location

A popular skateboarding shop has closed its doors in Saint John this week.

East Side Shop in McAllister Mall closed down first thing Monday morning.

"I want to thank everyone who supported me, my staff and our families over the years and gave us all so many memories," said Gord Bezanson in an Instagram post.

In his post, Bezanson, who managed the store, said he discovered the news in a text at 7 a.m. on Monday.

"My staff closed up yesterday with no idea," said Bezanson in a Facebook message.

"Not sure what the future holds but I'll roll forever. RIP EAST SIDE SJ."

The store employed four people. There's been no official word on why the store closed down.

A statement posted on the store's Facebook page thanked customers, supporters and staff for the love they've put into the store over the years.

Brian Muir, owner of both the Saint John and Fredericton locations, did not respond to CBC's interview requests.

Impact on the sport

The Saint John location, which was in its ninth year of business, was considered an integral part of the city's long–standing skateboarding scene.

It launched in 2008 after the opening of the original East Side store in Fredericton–and was a welcomed addition to McAllister Mall after the closure of several other skateboarding stores.

Scott Childs,25, has been skateboarding for 13 years and said East Side Shop was a place skaters could go and buy local.

"The only other store was West 49 and we didn't want to support any big name stores," said Childs, who was one of the original employees for the shop.

He's hopeful a new store will open its doors soon.

"We wanted to support local business."

"East Side was always great for us."

Helping skaters flourish

Childs said the store would help sponsor events or skaters in the community.

Some skateboarders from Saint John might even be talented enough to skate professionally, said Childs.

"That's only because of the support East Side has given us over the years."