Kasabonika celebrates opening of new Northern

Terry Stoney of Kasabonika Lake was on his third visit to the Northern Store on the evening of March 18.
“I’m still in awe,” he remarked with a laugh.
Earlier that day, many community members flocked to the store to celebrate its grand opening, which had been anticipated for months.
For two years, the Northern Store had been set up in the community centre after the original store burned down in April 2011.
Abraham Simon, district manager for northern Ontario with Northwest Company Northern stores, said the community centre offered only half the space the original store had, which meant cramped spaces and long lines that extended down the aisles during peak business times of the month.
But the new store is 12,000 square feet, three times bigger than the community centre, and offers more space for more product brands and displays.
“When I walked in, I thought it was something we really needed for our community,” Stoney said. “It’s much bigger and better.”
Simon said the new store and the chance to design for more efficient space allowed the company to offer a variety of products and services that were never in Kasabonika.
“We never had fresh meat before,” he said, noting that previously frozen meat was sold. “Now we offer chicken, pork, and beef.”
There is also a hot deli service along with a section where customers can serve themselves coffee, cappuccino and slush.
Additional space allowed for displays of the store’s furniture, appliances and electronics.
“And at the last location, we only had two tills to service customers,” Simon said. “Now we have four, that means less lineup.”
The new store also allowed the company to hire two full-time employees. Eighteen of the 20 employees are local.
The building is owned by the First Nation’s development corporation and is leased to the Northwest Company.
To help celebrate the grand opening, the company offered a sale on selected items. It also is having a daily draw for two weeks, with products such as a couch section, tent, dresser and BBQ up for grabs.
March 23 will offer the biggest prize only available to Kasabonika Lake members: an ATV valued at $8,500.
Simon said most of the products in the store had to be flown in for the grand opening since the winter road had only opened a few days before. He said shipments of dry goods are on the way to the community.
“We are still crossing our fingers the winter road will still be open in two days,” he said.
Stoney is grateful to have a new store.
“I’m very thankful for new store and whoever made this possible,” he said. “It’s something we really needed for a long time now.”