In the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, a new grocery store is set to open its doors this week in Kamloops.

FreshCo will be opening up at Sahali Mall on Thursday, May 14, bringing with it 140 jobs to the Tournament Capital. Owner Steve Fremmerlid says he’s looking forward to giving Kamloopsians another option to get their groceries.

“It’s been delayed a little bit with the opening just with the pandemic going on, but we are loading up the store as we speak. It’s just about there,” owner Steve Fremmerlid said on NL Newsday. “We’ll definitely be ready to open on Thursday, and the staff are super excited to get going.”

Fremmerlid says the pandemic means there won’t be a grand opening celebration as the focus right now is to provide an essential service to Kamloopsians.

“We’re not looking to do anything grand, we’re just trying to open the doors and make ourselves open and available for customers – another option to buy some food to feed their family,” Fremmerlid added. “Customers are really going to be delighted to have this as an option to shop in town here.”

This new FreshCo is replacing the Safeway at Sahali Mall, which closed in November. Both brands are owned by Sobey’s.

“[I’ve been talking to] the most incredible people that you could ever meet [at head office],” he added. “Even going through this pandemic, just the communication on how they are doing things to keep people safe. I’m just chomping at the bit to get going here, its been a lot of work to get to where we are right now.”

(Photo via FreshCo)