‘It was time’: Pemberton IGA changes hands for the first time in 42 years

For the first time since it’s establishment more than four decades ago, family owned Ernie’s IGA in Pemberton has changed hands. Ernie’s IGA has been a family business since it’s opening in 1981. It was owned by Connie Tartaglia and her late husband Erminio “Ernie” Tartaglia but has now been sold. Ms Tartaglia said the decision to pass the baton to the new owners was not taken lightly and found it hard to let go of the store, given it’s history and the passion and effort she and her late husband put into it. “It’s not just a shop for us, it’s our heart and soul and it’s very hard to let it go,” she said. “It was time, I’ll be 76 next month, and I didn’t want to leave anything undone for my family. “My husband passed away six years ago, and we had a son who was working here, but he decided that it wasn’t what he wanted. “It was supposed to be a business that was going to carry on in the family, but he didn’t want it and he’s now in Manjimup, and we carried on, with my sister managing it.” She received a phone call in October from an acquaintance saying there was an offer to buy the business and by the time December came, the deal was done and the business was sold. “Somebody who we knew phoned us asking if we wanted to sell, because they had buyers and we were very surprised how quickly it sold, because we didn’t expect it to sell so soon,” Ms Tartaglia said. “They were ready to buy and it went through about two weeks ago. “It was time and the opportunity to sell was there and we felt like it was the right time for us.” The store was built by the couple 42 years ago, with Ms Tartaglia saying she and Ernie wanted to start up a business that could bring employment to their children, given Pemberton’s biggest employer was the timber mill. “We built in 1981 and opened it that December,” she said. “We built it because it was only a small town and the mill was the only main employer of the town, and we had a little deli in the front of the main street for three years and we couldn’t find anything bigger. “At the time, we had five children and we were trying to get a business running and employ the children, since there was no employment for families and we started off with that. “We built the IGA for the family and for the greater community, as we wanted to settle in Pemberton and we were part of the community.” The current location of the supermarket was chosen after the couple had bought blocks, with the intent of building a family home, and found that instead of struggling to find a lease on the main street, they could build on the blocks that had been zoned for commercial use. “We bought a couple of blocks to build a house, so we could be close to the kids and the school,” Ms Tartaglia said. “We discovered the blocks were commercial blocks and we decided to build here, because we couldn’t find anything to lease along the main street.” Ms Tartaglia noted the transformation of Pemberton during her time as owner of the IGA, with the changes to main buildings in the area being the most significant transformation. “We built the first shop in Pemberton and there was not a lot of activity, because the mill, the school, the police office, which was like an old mill house, and the Forestry building was all that was there . . . When we built the IGA, we saw that they started building things and there was some injection into Pemberton, with a new police building.” She reminisced on seeing the community change throughout the time the store had been in her family’s ownership, noting the growth of community members and future store workers. “All our customers became our family and we have seen babies grow up and even end up working here after school and on weekends,” Ms Tartaglia said. “A majority of the young people have come through here and just to see them from babies, to being parents and even grandparents. “It’s not just business, the store has been a way for the community and it’s just about seeing the community.”