Community welcomes its first full-service supermarket

By Lori McKay - The Weekly News
The people of Eastern Passage can now access their daily needs without travelling beyond their community.
With a population of more than 11,000 and growing, the seaside community only recently got its first full-service grocery store.
"My wife and I?have lived here for five and a half years and we identified a real need for a supermarket in the area," said John Keizer, who opened the new Eastern Passage Valufoods on Dec. 21 at 81 Cow Bay Rd.
He said it was a bit overwhelming opening a business just days before Christmas, but they are now getting into a routine.
"Christmas week was a bit of a gong show in here, and New Year's Eve was equally busy, but we're now getting comfortable with our inventory levels. It's been hectic, but enjoyable."
Jackie Barkhouse, councillor for Woodside-Eastern Passage, said she ran in two elections in a 10-month period, and both times one of the comments she heard most often on doorsteps was the need for a full-service grocery store in the community of Eastern Passage.
"There are a lot of young families and seniors in the community, so a full-service grocery store is definitely an asset for those residents," she said. "The Woodside Sobeys (which closed in February 2009) did create some hardship for the folks who frequented that location, and I expect that this store will provide a service to many because of that fact. I have had numerous phone calls and emails regarding the opening of Valufoods here in Eastern Passage, and generally speaking the reaction has been quite positive."
Keizer worked for Sobeys for 23 years and Farmers Dairy for four and a half years, and says this was a natural progression for him.
"I always dreamed of opening my own store and I finally did it on?Dec. 21. Even though my background is in food retail and food manufacturing, there's still lots to learn."
The Eastern Passage Valufoods, which is the 27th store in the Valufoods family and the third in HRM, currently has 18 full and part-time employees.
"It's going to be a real family-run business," said Keizer, noting his wife Jody is helping out behind the scenes with payroll and accounts receivables. "If you don't see what you want in the store, it will be me you come talk to. I expect to get to know many more of my neighbours over the coming months and years."
Keizer said they completely gutted and renovated the 5,000 square-foot space, which was recently vacated by Chris Brothers and a video rental store.
"The store is bright and clean, the aisles are wide, the produce section is extensive," said Barkhouse, who extends good wishes to the owners of the new store and wishes them success. "My biggest concern is, will the parking lot hold all of the potential customers?
"It is my hope that all of the small businesses in our community thrive. It is heartbreaking to see them come and go, and in a community of this size I expect that we should be able to support them and make them viable."
The Valufoods grocery chain was started by Co-op Atlantic in the early 2000s.
"With Valufoods, we are able to help the community either keep a store in their community or, like in Eastern Passage, bring a whole new level of service to the people of the area," explains Bryan Inglis, the vice-president for Independent Food at Moncton-based Co-op Atlantic. "And like a co-op, the decision-making and profits stay right there in the community."
lmckay@hfxnews.ca