Along the way, there have been thousands of conversations, countless familiar faces and friendships formed across the counter.
Now, after more than 10,000 opening days and an estimated one million customer visits, Tony and Rhonda are preparing to step out from behind the counter and into retirement.
On October 26, Canning A.R.T.S. and Yarrawonga Fun and Games will pass to new owners Jodi and Josh Lewis, ending a remarkable chapter for the Canning family.
For Tony and Rhonda, there was no dramatic moment when they decided it was time; they simply knew.
“We knew we had to go on to the next chapter of our lives,” Rhonda said.
“A new chapter, same book.”
Their Yarrawonga story began in 1994 when they left city life behind, wanting to raise daughters Tiffany and Samantha in a small country town.
Tony’s father, artist John Canning, already had a connection with the existing gallery, allowing the couple to transform it and make it their own.
Six months later came the name Canning A.R.T.S., the letters representing Anthony, Rhonda, Tiffany and Samantha.
Over the decades, the business evolved, including two major renovations, a much-loved year-round Christmas shop, and a separate toy shop before the businesses merged at 51 Belmore Street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Board games and jigsaws remain favourites, alongside old-fashioned toys such as pick-up sticks, jacks and kaleidoscopes, proof that despite changing times and technology, some childhood favourites never really disappear.
“I think I’m going to miss the interaction with people,” Rhonda said.
“Even people you don’t know come in and say, ‘you’ve got a beautiful shop’, and you think, ‘that’s so nice’.”
About 15 staff have shared the journey, with Tony and Rhonda particularly acknowledging longtime employees Cathy Henry and Margaret Wickham.
There have been challenges too, including changing shopping habits, the closure of the old Yarrawonga primary school, COVID, and the growth of online shopping.
Yet through every change and challenge, Tony and Rhonda adapted, evolved and kept the doors open.
When Tony was asked what made him most proud after almost 32 years in business, he didn’t need a long answer.
“Surviving,” he said.
One word, perhaps, but after more than three decades in retail, it said plenty.
Now the caravan is ready, and the couple are looking forward to something a seven-day-a-week business rarely allowed - freedom.
“The option to do things when we want to do them, not when we can do them,” Tony said.
As they hand the reins to Jodi and Josh, Tony and Rhonda’s final message is one of gratitude, thanking their staff, loyal customers and the Yarrawonga community for supporting them for almost 32 years.
They hope that same support will now be extended to Jodi and Josh and, importantly, to Yarrawonga’s locally owned businesses.
After nearly 32 years of toys, gifts, Christmases, friendships and familiar faces, Tony and Rhonda are ready for what comes next.
