Former Extra Foods Still Sits Vacant

The Mayor of Steinbach says the city needs a downtown grocery store.

Chris Goertzen says on February 28, 2013, Extra Foods turned the lights off for the last time and has been sitting in the dark ever since. And Goertzen says he keeps hearing from people who question when or if they will ever be able to buy their groceries downtown again.

"We as a council obviously have been encouraging other grocery stores and Superstore Loblaw specifically to use that building wisely and use it for hopefully another grocery store," he says. "They presently do not have plans for it."

In fact, the Steinbach Mayor says don't expect to see any action there for at least another four and a half months. That's because limitations to labour relations only get resolved after two years from the date of closure; meaning it will probably be February 28, 2015 at the very earliest that a new store will open there.

"We have not seen any permits or any action at all in regards to permits for that building," admits Goertzen. "We'll wait to see. February twenty-eight does seem far away but within a few months hopefully we can see some action on that building."

Goertzen says Steinbach needs a downtown grocery store for several reasons. First of all, he says for that area to remain vibrant, they need more than just the small stores that service niche markets.

"Those are great," he says. "We also do need major corporations such as a Superstore or a large grocery store."

But Goertzen says they also need a grocery store downtown for seniors who live there or those who walk, rather than drive.