Prairie North Coop has announced the construction of a new food store in Melfort. (Submitted photo/Terri Larsen)

By Angie Rolheiser

New Shopping experience

Prairie North Co-op announces construction of new food store in Melfort

Apr 27, 2021 | 8:00 AM

Prairie North Co-op (PNC) will construct a new, state of the art Co-op Food Store adjacent to the Stonegate development in Melfort.

The announcement was made on Tuesday morning by general manager Terry Tremblay.

Tremblay told northeastNOW they hope to get site preparation underway this spring for the construction of the 25,000 square foot food store.

“We are expecting construction to begin late this summer or fall and hoping for a completion date late in 2022,” Tremblay said.

The new food store will be accessed off of Highway 6 at the traffic lights by the McDonalds.

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“This will really allow us to take advantage of all of the new opportunities in technology and food services that we were unable to take advantage of in our old store,” Tremblay said.

During COVID, the Co-op has expanded more into doing deliveries which will be part of the plan moving forward as well.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for our members to support the new store,” Tremblay said. “We are in discussions on how we can ensure access for everybody to the great new food store.”

The existing store has been open for over 40 years, and the Co-op has been operating in Melfort for over 100 years.

“We had an assessment of the existing store done and what the most modern food stores of today are offering and it was determined that the current location was not the answer,” Tremblay said.

The new store won’t be much bigger than the current store but will include a new lay-out while accommodating things like click and collect, online shopping, and prepared foods that the grocery industry has been developing.

The benefit of building a new store is being able to keep the current store open up until the doors are opened at the new food store.

“We are confident that the high level of traffic at Stonegate will be of benefit and the construction of a new store should spur more development in that area,” Tremblay said.

The new project is exciting for the city as a whole according to Director of Development, Planning and Public Relations Brent Lutz.

“It is going to attract people to our community to shop and by locating these things all together, it will improve the shopping experience for people when they come into Melfort,” Lutz said.

Lutz confirmed that ground work will begin this June with the site being turned over to the Co-op when it is complete.

“Prairie North Co-op has been a major part of our community for many years and the community depends on the services they provide,” Lutz said.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser