Its the end of an Empire.
Empire Meats, a Scottish specialty meat and butcher stop in Durham will close its doors for good Saturday after losing a battle with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs.
Owner Kevin Soady-Easton says he simply cannot afford the cost of complying with new food safety regulations which he says are a bit of over kill by the Provincial Government.
He says for his small one person burtcher shop to comply with the new regulations it would cost more than 150 thousand dollars to renovate his place of busines.
Soady-Easton says because of that, he is closing his business, and moving out of the area to Grimbsy, where his wife has a new job.
He says he is not the only small town burtcher to crumble under the weight of the Agriculture Ministry regulations as another butcher in Mount Forrest closed his doors as did one in Hanover.
Soady-Easton says its not just the Scottish community that will suffer now they cant get haggis or blood pudding, but butchers serving other ethnic communities are closing their doors as well.
He says what really is irksome is the fact his butcher shop has never had any health related problems in the 12 years he has been in business and has passed every inspection from area health inspectors with flying colours.
Soady Easton says he has a double A report card from an inspection just last week, and there is no reason at all he should be shut down.
He says the real downside about all of this is the Government is putting him out of business at a time when its encouraging people to buy local food and support local farmers.