The former 7/11 building on the corner of Main Street and Saskatchewan Drive in Melfort has been vacant for a few years since the convenience store seized operations there. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

New Business

‘There’s no slurpee machines’: Former Melfort 7-Eleven location turning into pharmacy

Mar 31, 2021 | 2:00 PM

You might have recently noticed some increased activity at the former 7-Eleven store in Melfort.

The building on the corner of Main Street and Saskatchewan Drive has been dormant for a few years now and has finally been purchased.

Vanessa Pederson is one of the co-owners as she and her husband have purchased the building. She said they’ve been talking about buying the building for three years.

“It’s on a prime location right in Melfort, along the highway, the major intersection,” Pederson said. “And kind of a bit of an eye sore I would think.”

She added buying the property might help revitalize that location and area.

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The plan for the building, according to Pederson is to open an independent pharmacy ran by herself, who is a technician, and her husband who is a pharmacist by trade. The couple has operated Shoppers Drug Mart’s in the past in Alberta, and in Saskatoon before moving to Melfort six years ago. Pederson said they had always thought about owning their own pharmacy.

There’s still lots to do before the business can open when it comes to renovations.

“We pretty much stripped it right to the studs on the outside wall,” Pederson said. “We took out all electrical, all mechanical, all plumbing.”

Part of the concrete floor has also been re-poured and Pederson said once it’s all said and done, the building will be basically unrecognizable from its former 7-Eleven convenience store roots.

“There’s no slurpee machines,” she laughed.

Pederson said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some delays in the renovation, but they hope the pharmacy is operational and serving Melfort and area by June.

“We’re hoping to bring stuff to Melfort that you can’t really find in Melfort, pharmacy wise,” Pederson said. “Services that maybe you have to go to a larger city, or another town, you’ll be able to get here.”

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6