The Lighthouse Fish Market is up for sale, after 34 years selling fruits and fish in downtown Hamilton.

"I just dread the day that we actually have to hand over a key," said owner Nelcy Miranda, surrounded by baskets of bright red peppers on the sidewalk.

She stops to help customers as she talks — there's a steady flow of people picking through peppers and filling bags of fruit. A man shouts hello as he drives by; Miranda chats with an older woman in Portuguese.

Baskets of colourful produce line the sidewalk outside, while groceries from Portugal and Italy fill the shelves inside.

The Lighthouse Fish Market has become a community fixture over the last three decades, amidst extensive change on the gentrifying James Street N.

The Lighthouse Fish Market, at 219 James Street N., is listed for $2.1 million. (Laura Howells/CBC)

Selling the building isn't an easy decision for Miranda and her mother, who was working inside.

But it was a promise they made to her late father, who opened the business in 1985; he wanted to sell so Miranda's mother — now 67 — could retire.

"We love being here. Everyone's begging for us not to leave," said Miranda, who's also had trouble finding employees to help.

"My heart is here, my soul is here ... It's heartbreaking. I don't want to leave."

The Lighthouse Fish Market is stocked with several specialty products from Portugal and Italy. (Laura Howells/CBC)

Father took a chance in 1985

Miranda's late father Frank opened Lighthoue Fish Market in 1985, after immigrating as a teen from Portugal.

It was a risk — but he'd been injured in a mining accident and needed some way to support his four children.

"He didn't even tell my mother he bought the building.

"He just came home and said 'I bought a building! And of course my mother freaked out," Miranda said, laughing.

Portuguese soccer jerseys hang inside the local market. (Laura Howells/CBC)

Miranda and her siblings grew up working in the store, starting at age seven.

Her father cared deeply about the business, she said, who worked incredibly hard to "make it shine."

'He wanted to push for James Street'

The business is symbolic of an older James Street, which has historically been heavily Portuguese-Italian.

After opening the store, Frank also became immensely involved with growing the downtown community, Miranda said.

He advocated to make Art Crawl happen, she said, and gave back wherever he could.

"He wanted to push for James Street."

Miranda teared up talking about her father and the decision to sell.

She doesn't want to leave — but they've also had trouble finding help.

Produce outside the market on James Street. (Laura Howells/CBC)

Hesitant about decision

It's hard work, said Miranda, who spends 19-hour days moving produce and picking up stock in Toronto.

Miranda and her mother have gone back and forth on the decision, putting 219 James Street on the market three times since Frank died in 2016.

They're still not certain, but they can't hesitate much longer.

Her mother is nearing 70 and her father never got a chance to retire, passing away at age 61.

The market no longer sells fresh fish, but they still source frozen fish from the east coast. (Laura Howells/CBC)

"I know that [Frank] didn't want to sell, but he had no choice thinking that my mom was going to be alone in this. But here I am," Miranda said, welling up.

They're doing their best right now, she said— but they also made a promise.

"It's not a choice that I want to make, but it's a choice that's best for my mom."

Building listed for $2.1 M

The building is listed for $2.1 million. Miranda is still negotiating offers, and says the store wouldn't shut for at least a year after selling.

After that, Miranda says she'll still sell wholesale out of a truck — but there won't be a community storefront.

The Lighthouse Fish Market has been open since 1985. (Laura Howells/CBC)

James Street has changed a lot since the store first opened. As a kid, she remembers fearing the area, where "there was a lot of trouble." She's watched many original businesses leave the street, while several new restaurants and stores move in.

Nowadays the store has both faithful regulars, as well as new, younger faces coming into the neighbourhood.

Peppers brighten the James Street sidewalk outside the Lighthouse Fish Market. (Laura Howells/CBC)

No rush to leave

Like her father, the market now means everything to Miranda; she left her job as a teacher to take it over.

Miranda describes the business as personal and "low-key." Neighbours who have moved away still come back and say hello, she said.

Customers say products — like Portuguese sausage and Italian fava beans — "remind me of back home," she said. People also enjoy the "Kensington market" vibe, she said, with fruits and veggies out on the sidewalk.

Nelcy Miranda, owner of the Lighthouse Fish Market, hated working at the store as a kid -- but now the business means the world to her. (Laura Howells/CBC)



For now, however, people still have time to enjoy the specialty cheese and olive oil. For now, however, people still have time to enjoy the specialty cheese and olive oil.

"We're in no rush to run away," said Miranda.

But, as she says, "there's a time when everything ends."