It's happening!
The FreshCo located at 945 Columbia Street West in the Sahali mall is set to open for business this morning at 8 am.
According to Franchise Owner and Operator Steve Fremmerlid, the business is looking to stand out from other grocery stores by offering a unique, local feel.
"It's a different kind of shop," said Fremmerlid. "We're going to have extremely low prices on all goods that consumers are looking for right now. The price points are all super competitive. The produce offering that we have will be absolutely phenomenal, the freshness, the quality, the colour, you'll really feel like you've walked into a brand new store when you do walk in."
"We have a lot of connections with local farmers from Osoyoos to Williams Lake and as the products are made available, we will be bringing them in and carrying them, kind of a little bit of a different offering than what more conventional stores do carry."
Fremmerlid explained that FreshCo would be employing 140 workers across various departments.
"As you walk into the store, you'll be met by the produce department and all the offerings, all the colours, selections, and price points are going to be on par with what people were expecting with a discount store, but the quality will be second-to-none. From there you'll go into the bakery department where we do not have a full-service bakery where we bake on-site, but we do have a partnership with Craig's Bakery, very Kamloops-owned, they will be supplying us fresh-baked goods daily."
"After that, you'll go into the meat department and seafood deli is all kind of in the same area, but everything is high-quality and great priced and just ready to go and ready to get your meat on the grill for the summer season... From there it leads into the dairy section and also all of the grocery aisles. You'll be very familiar with a lot of the products that are available in-store, and there will be someones that might be new to many people."
Strict guidelines have been put in place to ensure customer and employee safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're going to be limiting the number of customers inside the store, very similar to other shops in town, just to ensure that physical distancing measures and requirements are met. Ensuring that everyone has a fast friendly shop while they're in the store. We are asking everyone to, as best they can, have just one person per family come and shop. Just to allow, if there is a lineup of customers waiting to get in, to get them through that lineup quicker because of the limited number of people we are allowed in the store."
"We've really enhanced our cleaning and sanitizing practices throughout the store... Ensuring everybody is practicing social distancing, not standing within two metres from one another. We'll have some directional arrows on the floor to help guide the traffic to keep the back and forths down. We've got handwashing stations set up for cashiers to be able to wash their hands every 15 minutes, along with other staff. We've got plexiglass shields at the tills, both the front and back to allow for the extra safety in place."
Fremmerlid mentioned that store wouldn't be hosting any elaborate opening due to the pandemic.
"We're just looking to quietly open the doors and allow customers another option to get the foods they require to feed their families."
FreshCo is celebrating the opening by donating $2,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops Power Start Program.
