Nova Store in Harewood

February 6, 2026

Remember the Nova Store?

Just down the street from the old Harewood School – at 294 Harewood Road – Nova was another historic neighbourhood corner store loved by members of the community.

I remember going there for MAD Magazines and candy. It was one of the only places a kid could get a licorice pipe in Harewood.

A newspaper ad for Nanaimo Realty (pictured below) notes the sale of the Nova Store in December, 1960:

Shown above are Mr. and Mrs. Fred Dykes, formerly of Montreal, Quebec, who have recently moved here to Nanaimo. Mrs. Fern Dykes has just purchased the Nova Grocery on Harewood Road, and welcomes all her neighbors and the former customers of the Nova Grocery to come and visit them during their Grand Opening, Saturday, December 3.

Mr. and Mrs. Dykes have been all over Canada, and of all the places they have visited, the beauty and moderate climate of Nanaimo and the Island far surpass anywhere they have been previously.

The sale and insurance of this business were negotiated by Gib Stevens through the facilities of the Commercial Department of NANAIMO REALTY CO. LTD.

The store closed down sometime before 2009, which is the earliest year you can see it on Google Maps (picture below). By that point, the Nova Store Coca-Cola sign had been taken down, but the building hadn't been renovated yet.