Food Basics has opened its first “urban concept” grocery store in an underserved area of Ottawa’s downtown, with curated products and a layout designed for a much smaller space than its traditional floorplan.
Food Basics opened its 150th store in Ontario on Thursday at 340 Queen St. at the base of the Claridge Moon condo complex, close to the Lyon LRT station. The 22,000-square-foot store will be the grocery brand’s first “urban concept,” offering about 85 per cent of the normal offerings in about 65 per cent of the space, according to Hardeep Kharaud, Food Basics’s senior vice-president.
Kharaud told OBJ that the new store has updated its offerings to appeal to “singles, young couples and families, as well as seniors.”
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“We offer a very strong value proposition to our customer from a freshness and price standpoint … It’s a very good opportunity for us in an under-serviced part of the city,” he said.
Food Basics has been looking to branch out beyond the suburbs to urban areas in need of a more cost-effective grocery option, Kharaud said.
“We can operate a smaller store and still offer the same value that you might find in our larger stores. When this project became available and they were looking for a grocery anchor, we thought we had a format that would fit well,” he said.
Kharaud said the “urban concept” store will also feature an expanded hot meals and grab-and-go section as well as e-commerce offerings through Food Basics’s delivery service or through third-party delivery companies such as UberEats and InstaCart.
“From a category perspective, we serve our ethnic communities very well. We have an assortment (of) Halal meats (and) fresh produce that cater to those customers. But also in this store we’ve expanded our sort of grab-and-go, or meals to go, so more for that customer that’s time-starved (and) that needs meal solutions,” Kharaud said.
Operating a grocery store in the city’s core comes with challenges, Kharaud said, such as maximizing every inch of a smaller space.
“(Normally,) you don’t have these big cement columns in the middle of your sales floor because you have a condo tower above you. For us, it’s really about maximizing the use of space as a retailer. There’s no square inch that’s not used up for merchandise products. We’re very conscious of who (are) the customers we’re serving and what products we carry,” he said.
Every detail of an urban location has to be re-thought in order to do more with less, Kharaud added.
“We’ve thought of everything from the size of the shopping cart to the number of hand baskets and cash registers. Urban (areas) are high transaction-type environments. Urban footprints are complicated logistically. Receiving big trucks into downtown Ottawa is not an easy thing,” he said, adding that the teams at Food Basics will adjust as needed.
The store has created 90 jobs in the downtown core, spearheaded by store manager Mark McCleary, an experienced team member, according to Kharaud.
“Our main goal is to provide our customers with the best discount shopping experience possible with the most value at the lowest prices possible,” McCleary said in a news release. “I’m looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming everyone to our new store steps away from Lyon Station in downtown Ottawa.”
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, councillor Ariel Troster and Catherine McKenney, MPP for Ottawa Centre, were at this morning’s opening.
“A brand-new Food Basics has opened right in downtown Ottawa at Queen St. and Lyon St. I was joined by Councillor Ariel Troster and Catherine McKenney for their opening, bringing more jobs, more fresh and affordable food options, and another reason to enjoy living and working in the core. It’s exactly the kind of addition that is perfect for downtown,” Sutcliffe posted on LinkedIn.
“North Centretown has been a food desert for far too long, and I am thrilled for all of the residents who will now have access to affordable groceries in walking distance. Intensification leads to more and better services for people, and I am thrilled to see this positive sign of downtown revitalization,” Troster posted on LinkedIn.
The Queen Street Food Basics will carry beer and wine and validated underground parking.
According to a news release, Food Basics will donate $5,000 to the Ottawa Food Bank, which is affiliated with Feed Ontario, a partner with the grocery chain through Metro’s food recovery program.
Earlier this month, Food Basics opened its first store in Hawkesbury, bringing 100 new jobs to that community.
