Empty Manitoba restaurant sold for $1, will be transformed

The inside of the former M&M Café in Benito, Man. is seen in an undated image. (Bill Gade)

A Manitoba building that was on the market for a small sum has been sold.

The former M&M Café in Benito, Man. – located 488 km northwest of Winnipeg – has been sold and will be converted into Sparrow Farms, a live cricket farm, and the Swan Valley Pet Supply Store.

The Municipality of Swan Valley West sweetened the deal to entice a buyer for the property that has sat vacant since the COVID-19 pandemic, listing it for $1.

“It was a good response,” said Bill Gade, Reeve for the municipality. “We saw all sorts of people. We saw some that never came and looked at it and just mailed in an application from the city and said, ‘I could do something with that.’

“We also saw people that drove out here and toured the building and had their tape measures out and took pictures and made plans, and so we were pretty happy to see how people responded to it.”

Stuart Matheson, who lives in The Pas, was selected as the winning bid by the municipality.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity, because having to find a building in order to do this thing was always the biggest hurdle. But, with this being available for $1, it’s just such a great opportunity.”

Matheson said the pet supply store will fill a hole in northern Manitoba.

“You could buy online, of course. But the big problem was it just wasn’t available when you needed it; you’d always be waiting on the mail,” he said.

As for the cricket farm, Matheson was inspired be research in the United States into insect farming, and thinks it could be something to explore in northern Manitoba.

Work is underway to convert the building into the new space.

“The roof needs to be redone. It’s been neglected for a while,” he said. “The inside of the building itself has to be renovated in order to accommodate climate control for the insects, and I also (want) to renovate it a bit to have a small storefront for the actual pet supply side of the company.”

Matheson is aiming to have the business renovated by the end of 2026 to be open in 2027.