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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,D ecem ber 27,2018 w aterloochronicle.cawww.sunsetgrill.com 584Weber St.,Waterloo • 519-746-4444 MerryChristmas Waterloo! Breakfast & Lunch Fast Take-Out Service Available Open 7 days a week vailable Bring in this ad for a FREE COFFEE with anypurchase! BOXINGWEEK SALE ONNOW! • Free Blood Glucose Monitor & Teaching • Free Blood Pressure Check • Compounding Friendly Professional Team... where your total health is our goal! 373 Bridge St. Waterloo www.thpharmacy.com hours Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-4pm 519-747-0320 From Our Family to Yours, Wishing You a Safe and Happy Holidays! For Rob Gural of Mini Car Collectibles, 25 years is enough. In fact, when it's all added up, he estimates he's put at least 50 years of total hours in- to his business, which is clos- ing in the new year. "There's a lot of work in- volved, especially when you have to do everything," said Gural from his shop at 52 Re- gina St. N. in uptown Water- loo. His shop, Mini Car Collect- ibles, will close in the new year after 25 years of busi- ness. For Gural, who original- ly started in the Westmount Plaza Mall, it was long enough. "Twenty-five years was just a nice, round number," said Gural, an avid diecast collector himself. For a business that started off as a pop-up Christmas store, 25 years is a good run. Gural, who had been collect- ing diecast replicas through the 1980s, decided in 1993 to open a special Christmas pop- up shop in the Westmount Plaza Mall. "I just loved cars. When I started in the mid-'80s, it was just the dawning of diecast cars," said Rob. "The 1/18th era was just starting and that's what I focused on when I collected." It was a growing industry, but now the 1/18-sized diecast replicas are huge. The original location sup- posed to be a three-month commitment, but he had cus- tomers coming back for more. He operated there for sev- en years, before it was clear that the mall, which no longer exists, was dying. He then moved to the current shop on Regina Street in 2000. "I wanted to stay close to where we were, but I couldn't go to Conestoga Mall or any- thing like that," said Gural, noting the price difference at the time. When he moved into up- town, the area looked much different than it does today. "It was kind of a downtrod- den area," said Gural, noting the nearby vacant factories that have either been repur- posed into apartments or de- molished entirely. Mini Car Collectibles is one of the longest standing businesses on Regina Street today. Over the years, Gural has built a loyal customer base. He has a few customers who have been with him since Day 1 at Westmount, including a man who used to shop for col- lectibles with his dad when he was about five years old. "Now, seeing him 30 years old, still coming to the shop, is pretty cool," said Gural. The "pencilled-in" closing date for Mini Car Collectibles is Jan. 19, although that's not set in stone. From now until closing, all items are at least 25 per cent off as Gural tries to clear his inventory. BUSINESS MINI CAR COLLECTIBLES TO CLOSE ITS DOORS AFTER 25 YEARS ADAM JACKSON ajackson@waterloo chronicle.ca Rob Gural, owner of Mini Car Collectibles on Regina Street in Waterloo, is closing shop in the new year after 25 years. Adam Jackson/Metroland