New downtown business reaches back to building’s historic roots
LETHBRIDGE – What’s old is new again for a business that just opened its doors in downtown Lethbridge.
Conybeare Mercantile opened to the public earlier this week, using the name of its original owner, Charles Frederick Pringle Conybeare. It was built in 1891 at the corner of what is now 6 Ave. and 5 St. South.
After being occupied as a home until 1918 – with residents including Lethbridge’s first mayor, Charles Alexander Magrath – the building became a Jewish Synagogue with a residence for the Rabbi, before converting to Regal Grocery/Confectionary from 1942 to 1987.
Joseph Eufemia purchased and restored the building in 2014, and while he noted that a family member used it as a temporary space for their business last year, it has remained virtually empty for 31 years.