ASSINIBOIA - Aust’s General Store, a well-known general store located in Big Beaver, was run by family for more than 60 years. The store has been in the community since 1928, starting when the railway came and was run by the same family for 64 years.
Sheri and Stacey Anderson decided to continue the legacy of the store that touted the tagline, “If we don’t have it – you don’t need it.” They will continue one of the last few general stores left in the province.
Aust’s was listed on the Tourism Saskatchewan website as an attraction as a must stop for tourists coming to the Outlaw Caves tour of the Big Muddy. The store was one of the last businesses left in the hamlet, listed as a population of 10. The Big Muddy is the northern extension of a string of badlands that range all the way to Mexico and including a famous history of notorious outlaws, such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spending time in these Saskatchewan Badlands.
In its heyday years, Big Beaver was a bustling community serving a couple thousand people in the area. Cattle were shipped by rail from the stockyards and the town had a concrete plant that produced concrete culverts. The town once included a garage, a grain elevator, a newspaper, several stores and even a local café.
Sheri Anderson told the Assiniboia Times, “We decided to purchase the store and move the business we ran off our farm currently. Big Beaver General Store serves a large area. Tourists come from May to October yearly. “
Big Beaver is approximately a one-hour drive from Assiniboia.
The Andersons said they will continue in general store format including a large hardware section, full grocery and a small lunch counter. While opening day is not set in stone, the family hopes to be fully operational in early April
“I really believe I can keep the legacy going with a few of my personal touches. Tourism is something I truly love. I believe so many who are born and raised in the surrounding area have never enjoyed what is in their own back yard,” added Anderson.
Anderson affirmed her family will run the store, and when their girls are free, they will definitely be helping out.
“We are so pleased to be able to give the community a place they loved to visit when they came home to visit family or a place they visited on a regular basis.”
Keep up to date on the opening of Big Beaver General Store be searching for the AustsGeneralStore Facebook page.
