By Sarah Brown
Of The New Era
Two Brownsville business owners are preparing to shutter their operations this month as they make plans for the next step in their lives.
Kelly and Paula Corbett, owners of Isabella’s Pioneer Market Antiques and Mercantile, have been operating their store since 1999, but recently began holding weekly sales of their store inventory and personal belongings.
“It’s just time for us to retire,” Kelly said. “We love the business. We love the people. We love the community. It’s just time for a change.”
In his retirement years, Kelly said he’s gonna fish, raise bees and grow a garden, while Paula will help in the garden and continue her painting hobby.
Down the road, staff at Kirk’s Ferry Restaurant will serve their last meal on Saturday, April 26. Chef Dakota Hopla said that he and his parents, Greg and Shawna, operated the restaurant for 13 years after constructing the building around their ancestor’s cabin, using the space to serve Hopla’s barbecue fare.
Meanwhile, the family has also been participating in Renaissance fairs along the west coast. Hopla recently decided to open a food booth at the fairs, so he decided to shutter the restaurant.
“It’s an opportunity that I can’t pass up,” he said. “I’ve been asked to do a food booth there for a long time, and just the timing was right; It’s also a way to get my barbecue out to masses of people.”
The restaurant space will remain largely untouched, though, as the family plans to continue offering catering services and using the building as an event venue, Hopla said.