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Where Things Stand - More retailers needed in High Prairie
Mac Olsen
South Peace News
Driving back from Peace River a couple of weeks ago, I noticed they have a No Frills store, which really burns me up because High Prairie should have received one by now.
The parent company, Loblaws, has repeatedly delayed the construction of what was supposed to be an Extra Foods store, which was then scaled back to a No Frills store, which has now been put off indefinitely. Don’t High Prairie and area residents deserve better than this?
I’m not just being critical of Loblaws. With the potential of the oilsands in the Peace River region, more retailers of all kinds will be required to service the growing population.
How about attracting Canadian Tire? Wal-Mart? Shoppers Drug Mart?
Slave Lake has these and other retailers and it’s only fitting High Prairie should have them, too. I hope our economic development officer, Brian Holmberg, is trying to attract them here.
Granted, High Prairie has only 3,000 people but we have a trading area of over 10,000 - larger than Slave Lake. However, with new housing construction and families moving here, not to mention the opportunities to serve the surrounding communities, this can only be better for us.
High Prairie stood to loose a retailer last year. The SAAN chain closed across Canada, including their store in High Prairie. However, The Bargain Shop took over in the same location and offers comparable merchandise.
I do not advocate displacing local retailers with new ones, simply providing more options for consumers. I shop as much as possible in High Prairie; for example, in the last couple of months, I have shopped locally for much of my hunting equipment. I also do much of my grocery shopping locally.
In terms of dining establishments, High Prairie will be getting another in the near future. Joan Steinley plans to establish her new café, Wholesome Jo’s, in an empty building at 4934 51 Ave. owned by Michael and Darla Smith, who own and operate the Park Theatre.
In a letter, Steinley says she will feature products grown on her farm as well as local growers and gatherers, with the emphasis on home-grown, organic and heritage produce.
“Community engagement is not only encouraged by purchasing from local growers/gatherers, but will also be supported with the featuring of local cooks and ethnic specialties,” she adds.
Of course, the economic downturn has forced many businesses to lay off staff. Obviously, what happens with the petroleum industry in other parts of Canada and the world has a direct impact on High Prairie. While it’s unfortunate, business owners cannot be faulted for laying off staff and finding other ways to reduce costs.
Nonetheless, now is the time to get the ball rolling and attract more retailers and families to the community. It’s good to see houses will be built in the Cornerstone Resident Development north of E.W. Pratt. This is a hopeful sign more people will come here.
Thus, if Loblaws is unwilling to commit to High Prairie, we should not bank on empty promises and bring another grocery store here instead.
High Prairie should also roll out the red carpet for other stores like Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, etc.
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