"It was devastating news to hear, especially 'cause we didn't know how to move forward."
On June 24, southeast Saskatchewan was rocked by a hailstorm that left many properties with different levels of damage. One of the buildings in Estevan that was left with severe damage was the Soul Hideout building on the corner of 5th Street and 12th Avenue. Announced on social media, owner Kelsey Rydberg has decided to shut down the brick-and-mortar shop after the building was deemed unsafe.
"We are super sad to lose such a wonderful heritage building within our community. We love the stories from people that would come in that remember what it used to be, the different shops and the different apartments and the people that lived there. It was always so interesting to hear how our little shop on the corner had so much history within the community, we absolutely loved that part."
The Soul Hideout building had its roof torn off during the hailstorm, sending wood and metal debris onto the ground below. Police were dispatched to the scene shortly after to keep residents and motorists away. Rydberg was shocked when she arrived to the area that night. "We went down there that evening because I started getting messages about 'Have you seen what happened?' And the next day we were just kind of standing by for information. We were given the go-ahead to open up and to start up shop again and that everything was gonna be okay. So, we were under that impression for the first few days. Then, we did receive the unfortunate news that the building was deemed unsafe to be in, which kind of caught us by surprise because we had been under the impression that the building that was gonna be okay and that everything was gonna be okay."
"Soul Hideout was such a home away from home for so many people. So many people would stop in there when they're in town, you know, stopped to tell us about their day. The exciting part[s]. The sad parts of life. Like, we were always an open door for so many people. So, to have that shut in such a way was really devastating for us to hear." -Kelsey Rydberg, owner of Soul Hideout, on having to shut down her business after the building its situated on was deemed unsafe.
Soul Hideout meant a lot to Estevan, Rydberg shared, harbouring a community within a community. She noted that since taking over in 2017, she was able to host different circles and connections after hours to help everyone connect to authentic, raw feelings through meditations. For a long time, the business also collaborated with the Estevan Humane Society to help match people with new pets. Rydberg has been receiving messages of support from former customers and previous clients of Soul Hideout.
"Many people messaging me that they had tears in their eyes and they can't stop crying because they're so sad. 'You have lost Soul Hideout' in the capacity of a brick-and-mortar. It's amazing in the fact to create and be a part of something that was so special to the community. There's definitely a mourning process to losing something that special."
The physical building may be gone, but Rydberg assures the public that Soul Hideout will live on. She said that the building will be shifting to an online business, as she's also getting ready to be a mom.
"We're really excited to test that out so that I can be focused on being a mom, but also be there for Soul Hideout and be there for our community. Another really exciting part about that is because we don't have the overhead cost of a brick-and-mortar, we will be able to supply our community with so many different wellness tools, spiritual tools at more of like a wholesale cost. In the meantime, while we're navigating these waters, we're excited to kind of get that avenue up online and to be able to connect our customers to the products they love so that they can still have a little piece of Soul Hideout in their home."
"For me, I will miss connecting with so many people on such an authentic level every day. I would joke that I was a professional visitor in there and I definitely will miss being able to visit with everyone in our community members everyday," she said.