By NAFISAT ALAO
After more than 31 years, Tex Thomas, owner of the Pro League Sports store on Queen Street East, is moving his business out of the Beach.
His new store will be located on the northwest corner of River Street and Dundas Street East, just west of the Don River.
He said he hopes to have the move completed by the end of August.
The business has been operating at 1957 Queen St. E. since October of 1991.
“It’s a store that was needed that we felt the neighbourhood would support, and they have,” Thomas told Beach Metro Community News in an interview at the store on Tuesday, July 11.
He mentioned that he is “pretty sad,” in terms of having to move his store out of the community.
Thomas said the move to a new location, after so many years on Queen Street East, can never feel the same as it did when he first opened up in the Beach neighbourhood.
“It will never be the same feeling because there are a lot of people who have touched us and who we have touched by being here. You just hope you can provide in the new location what you provided in the old location and even more and hope that the friendships we have built here will continue moving onwards,” he said.
Thomas said that ever since his store has been open in the community, he has always received very good treatment from the customers and the community.
“The community has always treated us very well. Our toughest couple of years were our first year of opening just because you don’t know how the community is going to respond to a new business,” he said.
His business had been facing a challenge as the building his store had called home since he first opened up will be undergoing major construction work as an addition is being put on.
The upcoming construction means the building will no longer be usable for the lengthy period of time it will take to do the work and into the future. The situation put Thomas in a position where he had no option but to move his store.
“It’s an addition to the building and I just can’t have the space anymore,” he said in an earlier interview. “It’s not just the store, the tenants above have to go as well.”
Thomas has had a number of customers return to his store to pay their respects and thank him for the kindness and love they have received from him ever since they began shopping, sometimes as kids and now as parents with their own children.
Before the move from the Beach, Thomas will be having a farewell sale at the store from July 21 through to the 28.
For more information on Pro League Sports and to keep up to date on the moving plans and final days of opening in the Beach, please go to https://proleaguesports.ca
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We are so sad to see Tex (Proleague) leave the beach after all these years. He has supported the community and been such a wonderful part of our neighborhood! Why didn’t Beaches Business Assoc. or Brad Bradford help find a new storefront with so many empty places on Queen?! I remember since the beginning, Tex would be great with the kids coming in. He even used to show up at Kew Beach PS and shoot some hoops with the kids when mine were attending there. We will miss you, Tex!