A local couple whose burned-out Port Coquitlam gift store obliterated their life savings has turned to GoFundMe to rebuild.
Sean and Deanna O'Leary, owners of The Urban Man Cave on Shaughnessy Street were insured for their stock but not for store fixtures and have turned to their community to help raise funds to re-open.
"If every person gave $1, we'd be able to get going again," said Sean O'Leary.
The couple acknowledges that re-starting a business is not a typical cause found on GoFundMe, a crowdfunding site whose pleas for funding most often support people with devastating illnesses, start-up costs for inventions, or to help with health emergencies.
"We're hoping the community rallies," said Deanna O'Leary, noting without the cash, they will have to fold their tent.
The couple poured their life savings in the store in a gamble they hoped would pay off after both lost their jobs due to company restructuring. Sean O'Leary took Douglas College's Self-Employment program and a business analysis confirmed what he suspected: there were few sources for unusual men's gifts.
The store catered to a diverse clientele, the couple says, with an extensive line of barware, NHL memorabilia and items made from recycled wine barrels, and old bearings for tractors made in New Westminster, Burnaby and the Tri-Cities. They sold a lot of chain-mail jewelry made locally, new and heritage neon, and a line of rustic furniture called Prairie Bench made by a Port Coquitlam man, was also popular.
There was even a medieval room with a full suit of replica armour but their inventory, which had been increased in anticipation of the PoCo BIA Car Show on Aug. 16, is likely damaged by smoke, water and possibly the fire, which authorities now say was caused by an electrical towel warmer in the barber shop.
In all, five of six businesses are reportedly re-opening, with the barbershop posting notes on telephone polls near the fire that it will be relocating.
When The Tri-City News spoke to the couple Wednesday, they hadn't been allowed back inside the store to assess the damage but had to watch outside a safety fence to see fire investigators combing through the debris.
The O'Learys hope to salvage some goods and sell what is not damaged at the car show, and have assured their suppliers, especially the local artisans, that they will be paid first from the insurance claim.
"They will be taken care of, they are a priority," said Sean O'Leary.
In the meantime, the O'Learys hope the public will check out their tent at the upcoming PoCo BIA Car Show next Sunday and follow their Facebook page for updates. If all goes well, and the GoFundMe campaign is a success, the business could re-open in time for Christmas shopping.
The car show featuring more than 400 collector vehicles runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Aug. 16, in downtown PoCo.
