‘I’m going to miss it’: Rencontre East store closes after 60 years in the community

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaBusinessLocal BusinessNewfoundland & LabradorNewfoundland And Labrador Lifestyle ‘I’m going to miss it’: Rencontre East store closes after 60 years in the community Grace Hardy ran Judy's General Store in Rencontre East for 28 years after her mother and aunt opened it nearly 60 years ago Author of the article: By Nicholas Mercer Published Sep 10, 2026 5 minute read Judy's General Store has operated in Rencontre East for 60 years. It recently closed its doors as owner Grace Hardy retired from the business. CONTRIBUTED Article content In the days of penny candy, Grace Hardy remembers that belly buttons were the favourites of the children of Rencontre East. Article content Back then, students would leave the local school and head to Judy’s General Store for a sweet treat before heading home. Article content Article content Hardy could always count on them coming and always knew what they were going to ask for before they did — belly buttons. Article content Article content One day, four students came in, one after the other. They each wanted that type of candy, and Hardy started counting. Article content Before long, she had counted 1,700 belly buttons and delivered them to the waiting children. Article content “I remember someone saying to me afterwards, ‘I don’t know how you could have counted all them out,’” Hardy recalls. “I always said, ‘Well, if you had them to sell, you had to count them out.’” Article content Grace Hardy closes up Judy’s General Store in Rencontre East for the last time. It’s been in her family for some 60 years and has become part of the community. CONTRIBUTED Article content A lifetime at the store Article content That’s just one of the memories that the 66-year-old has from her 28 years owning and operating Judy’s General Store, which she inherited from her mother in the late 1990s. Article content Judy’s Grocery Store is the typical have-everything store you’ll find in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Stepping through the doors, you’ll see belly button candies, alcohol, a loaf of bread and anything else you might need. Article content At the end of August, Hardy retired and officially closed a store that was as much a part of Rencontre East as the ferry that connects the town to the rest of the province. Article content Article content “I think I just reached a point where I felt…