The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The company that owns the Extra Foods chain is being tight-lipped about a long-rumoured _ and potentially non-existent _ return to the Flin Flon market. Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the surprise closure of the Extra Foods store at the Flintoba Shopping Centre. 'We continue to consider a variety of options, and at this time I unable to share any updates,' Julija Hunter, a spokesperson for parent Loblaw Companies Ltd., told The Reminder on Monday. Since closing on Oct. 15, 2011, the Extra Foods building has sat empty, save for a crew that was hired to gut what was once Flin Flon's largest retail location. Not long before the closure, North of 53 Consumers Co-op contacted Loblaw to talk about a potential purchase of the 42,000 sq. ft. building. Co-op general manager Tom Therien said Loblaw was not interested in entertaining offers at that time. He said the Co-op may revisit the matter at some point, though it is not clear whether Loblaw holds a different position today. Therien said 'all of the ducks would have to be in a row' for the Co-op to seriously consider buying the building. That includes an affordable price, but Therien said no financial figures were mentioned when the Co-op talked to Loblaw. Even before the doors closed, rumours were swirling that Loblaw would eventually return to the building, replacing Extra Foods with No Frills, another one of its grocery chains. Loblaw denied any such plans to both the media and its workers, who were unionized. The rumour of No Frills centred around Loblaw's alleged ability to get rid of its union if it closed the building for a year. See 'Union... on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 But Blair Hudson, a northern Manitoba rep for the United Food and Commercial Workers, said the union's contract with Loblaw would make any such plan problematic for the company. He told The Reminder last year that the contract specified the union represents workers at all existing and any new Manitoba stores operated by Westfair Foods, a regional division of Loblaw. Westfair could open a No Frills store in Flin Flon, Hudson said, but the company would have to accept both the the existing collective bargaining agreement and the former Extra Foods employees. In recent weeks, contractors have been spotted in the parking lot of the abandoned building, digging deep into the pavement to reach piping. Hunter, the Loblaw spokesperson, said the work is 'related to ensuring the property remains safe, specifically around the heat trace lines for the sprinkler system.' 'Some maintenance work needs to be done in order to prevent the water lines for the sprinkler system from freezing,' added Hunter. 'This is a regulatory fire protection for the store.' To much fanfare, the Flin Flon Extra Foods store opened on Feb. 10, 2004, the last of three 'big box' stores at the Flintoba Shopping Centre. With a workforce of 45, the store was a major employer by Flin Flon standards. Nearly 40 per cent of the employees, 17, were full-time.
