Nobody’s talking and nothing is confirmed, but there is still apparently a chance the former Extra Foods store will eventually reopen under a new name.
On Oct. 20, Manitoba employees of Loblaw, which owns the Extra Foods chain, ratified a new five-year deal with the company.
As a result, the union said in a news release, “more stores will open across the province under the agreement, protecting senior workers at new banners that will be opened in existing and former Extra Food locations.”
The union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832, did not specify any of the former locations that will reopen.
Will Flin Flon be among them? A spokesperson for the UFCW did not return an interview request.
Nothing new
As for Loblaw, the company had nothing new to say when asked about its plans for Flin Flon – or lack thereof.
“At this time, we have no information to share regarding the former Extra Foods store in Flin Flon, Manitoba,” the company said in a statement to The Reminder late last week.
Nonetheless, speculation persists that Flin Flon’s Extra Foods store, vacant for more than two years, will reopen as part of the No Frills discount grocery chain also owned by Loblaw.
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As recently as last year, Loblaw was publicly denying any plans to return to the Flin Flon market, claiming the Extra Foods outlet here was a money-loser.
But this past April, North of 53 Consumers Co-op general manager Tom Therien told members that the Co-op asked about moving into the Extra Foods building only to be told it wasn’t for sale.
Extra Foods closed its doors on Oct. 15, 2011, less than eight years after its much-touted opening near Walmart and Canadian Tire at the Flintoba Shopping Centre.
At the time, Loblaw said the store was “no longer economically viable to continue to operate,” while a union official said it had been losing money at least as far back as 2009.
The closure reshaped Flin Flon’s grocery and retail market, leaving two major grocers to compete for customers.
It also eliminated one of the community’s largest employers, as Extra Foods had 45 workers, about 17 of whom were full-time.
At 42,000 sq. ft., Extra Foods ranks as one of the most impressive buildings in Flin Flon. It opened on Feb. 10, 2004 on the strength of Loblaw’s market research suggesting this was a “great market” for the company.
The Manitoba union’s new deal with Loblaw gives employees a 13 per cent wage hike over five years, additional full-time jobs and more guaranteed hours.
Employees approved the deal by an overwhelming margin of 91.4 per cent. It is retroactive to Sept. 28, 2013.
