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This article was published 24/3/2017 (1274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike Wolchock isn’t looking for a "massive miracle." The manager at Pollock’s Hardware Co-op just wants 30 or so people to come daily into the hardware shop’s South Osborne location and buy some nails or a pocketknife, maybe some crazy glue or sunflower seeds.

"I just need a handful of people to shop," Wolchock said Friday afternoon, standing in the entrance of the narrow, cluttered store on Osborne Street. If they don’t, locals can expect to see a "for rent" sign in the window before summer.

In three-and-a-half years of operation, the shop’s never turned a profit, Wolchock said, but now it’s proving to be a financial burden on the hardware store’s original Main Street and Atlantic Avenue location. He’s begged for time and the Co-op board — in cooperation with the Osborne landlord —has given him a slight reprieve: seven days to bolster sales, seven days to decide whether to renew the lease. The clock runs out April 1.

"I’m running out of time," Wolchock said.

In an attempt to meet his target and buy even more time to bring the Osborne shop into the black, Wolchock appealed directly to the store’s customers.

"Bottom line is we need $440 in sales per day over the next seven days that the store is open," he posted to the company’s website and Facebook page (Pollock’s isn’t open on Sundays). "If we can do this I can make a case to keep the store open."

Pollock’s Hardware is practically a Winnipeg institution. The Main Street shop, which has a similar eclectic feel to the Osborne location but is much bigger, has been open since 1922. When it shut down in late 2007 because the owner couldn’t find a buyer, the Luxton neighbourhood banded together to form a co-operative and bought it. In the summer of 2008, Pollock’s re-opened; one of only four independent hardware stores left in the entire city.

"People couldn’t believe it closed until after it closed," Wolchock said, "and since it’s reopened it’s rejuvenated itself."

He’s hoping this time just the threat of closure will be enough to rally the community.

"If people do step up here in the next few weeks and spend money and show support, then I can go back to the board and say, ‘listen, I think it’s worth it to stick it out for another year,’" He said.

When he walked in Friday afternoon, Wolchock got a bit of good news. The Osborne shop’s one staffer told him the day’s sales were up. Good news, he remarked, since sales were terrible on Thursday. Crazy glue, in particular, practically flew off the shelves.

In many respects, the shop is Wolchock’s baby.

While he manages both, this location was what he called his "big, brilliant idea."

Wolchock liked it because the neighbourhood didn’t have a hardware store — "you couldn’t even get a key cut in South Osborne" — and at a community meeting to test the waters, a hundred or so people came out to voice support. Even though the Co-op lost around $35,000 that first year and $15,000 the next, he said the sales continued to climb, making him hopeful. Now, he’s less so.

"It was a tough winter," Wolchock said.

While both locations lost money, Pollock’s on Main Street at least met its budget. Osborne hasn’t. The shop’s down $2,500 from the last month alone, he said.

"I’ve got to go to the bank on Monday with a bag of money," he said, "it’s that tight."

It was a tough winter with warm patches that meant people didn’t need to buy mittens or shovels and treacherous stretches where people stayed indoors to avoid the slick ice coating public sidewalks.

"We want to be here, we’ve got great support from our board, we’ve got tons of members, we’ve got a good location, we’ve got good products," Wolchock said. "All the things are here for it to work other than just the bodies in the door."

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca