"Independent" grocer

[Lore]

I was looking through their flyer.
Looks like it is more expensive than it used to be.
I'll be shopping somewhere else that has better prices.

[goatboy]

The two IGA's are locally owned.

[GEW]

I used to work for Extra Foods in the late 90s (briefly). They treat their employees like prisoners. I have refused to shop at any Loblaws/Westfair store since. That particular store needs a bulldozer; getting pretty old.

[FuzzyLogic]

A few weeks ago they operated for four straight days without their lead meat item that was advertised in their flyer.

So good luck with this new store, not quite sure what they are doing in there ,,, my neighbour was telling me that the " new " meat manager at this store is just a grocery clerk without any meat cutting experience ,, strange indeed.

It's funny because I read this the other day and when I was in there today I couldn't find the frozen bags of chicken.

I asked a guy with a "Meat" tag on and he said that they don't have it anymore, but they have the boxes. I asked him to direct me to the boxes and he said that they only have the small boxes right now. He showed me where, but then it turned out they were out of those as well.

As far as the fresh chicken, the options were skin on wings or skin on drumsticks. Not even a thigh was to be seen. Lolwut.

To go into a grocery store and not even be able to buy chicken is laughable.

[Danielson99]

So good luck with this new store, not quite sure what they are doing in there ,,, my neighbour was telling me that the " new " meat manager at this store is just a grocery clerk without any meat cutting experience ,, strange indeed.

Since when was it a butcher shop inside the store? There are very few stores in Kelowna that do their own butchering and cutting of meats.They might repackage items but I have never known them to do any butchering of meat in the decades I've been here. Butcher shops went out of style long ago, sadly, it's all done at a massive processing facility and shipped to all the stores. Nestors' is one of the few that do butcher at least some of their own meat.

[justchequing]

So Peter Boyd puts everything he has on the line to own his Independent store and people on here want to bust his nuts because his major supplier is Loblaws?

This is a franchise set up. As is McDonalds, or Pizza Hut etc. - You get the name but are tied to sourcing most everything from the holder.

Peter was always a great manager - was always keen to resole any complaint I had when I shopped there.

I wish him all the success he so richly deserves for being an entrepreneur.

[Bsuds]

Nestors' is one of the few that do butcher at least some of their own meat.

As does Lakeview Market.

[LANDM]

To go into a grocery store and not even be able to buy chicken is laughable.

Aahhhh, takes me back to the good old days of the Soviet Union. And don't let the North Koreans hear this.....laughing at the inavailability of chicken in the store will get you a free admission into the Hawaijung Hilton Work Camp.

We know we have serious first world problems when the availability of "skin-on" is deemed so serious that it doesn't even count as chicken.

[MAPearce]

I like the place ... Sure it still looks like the old place , but it the only place I can find AND afford a head of lettuce..

All these new freaky stores JUST . DON'T . HAVE . IT.

Sad really ,but I don't like the "ditch weed" every one else sells.

[Symbonite]

If you think anything is independent...then your kidding your kidding yourself...

http://www.convergencealimentaire.info/map.jpg

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Reposito ... 330400.jpg

[buteman]

danielson99 ,,, what ? are you out of touch or is there a misunderstanding ? Extra Foods always had a butcher shop or cutting room would be a preferable term.

Yes Nester's has their own butcher shop as does many other outlets including Real Canadian Superstore. The principle difference nowadays is that the beef products are shipped as what they call " block ready ". The sides of beef are broken down into primal cuts at a government inspected facility, the primal cuts ( chucks, prime ribs, hips, loins etc. ) are then vacuum packaged, boxed then shipped to the store.

You most certainly still need skilled meat cutters to process these primal cuts, some supermarket outlets now operate with all pre-packaged meat products but not all of them.

The idea behind having all the meats shipped to the store prepackaged is to eliminate staff specifically meat cutters. Extra Foods eliminated their meat cutters a few years ago now as an Independent Store they are cutting meat in the processing area.

It takes as much time to learn the meat trade as it would to learn to be an electrician or a plumber ( at least in Europe it does ).
Meat cutting courses in some of the technical colleges leave a great deal to be desired. A fully qualified butcher / meat cutter is a tradesman the going rate for a fully qualified journeyman is in the area of $ 23.90 per hour far below what any journey man electrician or plumber would earn.

I wouldn't have any realistic expectations regarding this new store having a quality meat department operation considering what they have for staff. And like everything else, you get what you pay for ,,, I understand they offered a fully qualified journeyman meat cutter $ 16.00 per hour ,,, anyone can fill their store with staff if you are paying low wages.

[goatboy]

I like the place ... Sure it still looks like the old place , but it the only place I can find AND afford a head of lettuce..

All these new freaky stores JUST . DON'T . HAVE . IT.

Sad really ,but I don't like the "ditch weed" every one else sells.

What new freaky stores are you talking about?

[MAPearce]

Urban Fare...Although not "really" new ,it's kinda of new and some of the stuff they got in there I've never heard of .

And it freaks me out.

[Jaide_d]

They just label it independent to try to grab those (naive) customers who only "shop local"

[GordonH]

They just label it independent to try to grab those (naive) customers who only "shop local"

I do my best to shop local, did not go to Extra Foods will not be going there under new name. By the way I'm not naive