701 Ellice Avenue - Discount Everything

© 2021, Christian Cassidy

Place: Former McKnight Motors / Discount Everything
Address: 701 Ellice Avenue
Constructed: 1954
Size: 3,070 square feet
Demolished: April 2021

This building was constructed in 1954 as home to McKnight Motors.

Mervyn McKnight was born and raised in Winnipeg and served with the RCAF in World War II. He then joined the family business, Lion's Storage on William Avenue.

The dealership lasted only until 1958 when McKnight joined CEA Simon-Day Ltd., a retailer and manufacturer of material movement equipment such as forklifts and industrial conveyor systems. He became its president in 1970, an era of great growth for the company, and held that position when he died in 1981 at the age of 58.

April 26, 1964, Winnipeg Free Press

After McKnight left in the late 1950s, 701 Ellice hosted numerous automobile-related businesses - from dealerships to tire centres - for the next twenty years.

It became European Video, a movie rental store, in the early 1980s. A decade later, it was a Video 1001 store which rented movies and sold snacks and Pic-a-Pop.

It was the Discount Everything convenience store through the 2000s. It became known across the city when its exterior was featured in the TV series Less Than Kind.

The Yoon family had been trying to sell the building for a few years. Apparently, they were successful in early 2021 and retired. It is unclear what use the new owners were planning for the building.

On April 11, 2021 by Tiff Bartel on Twitter

In the early morning of April 11, 2021, fire broke out in the building. After some repairs, the building went up for sale in the summer.