Grocery stores are a social hub in many communities, and play an important role in our lives. So important that one couple even decided to hold their wedding in the Quality Foods where they met!
B次元官网网址淲alking down the aisle had a whole new meaning that day!B次元官网网址� laughs Dianna Rivard, who has worked with since they opened their first store in Qualicum Beach in 1982.
After first working as a meat wrapper and moving through most of the grocery storeB次元官网网址檚 departments, Rivard was promoted to the Quality Foods head office. There sheB次元官网网址檚 overseen a number of special projects, including Perk Avenue, the in-store coffee shop where people could meet with neighbours and friends, do some grocery shopping, or even meet a future spouse.
B次元官网网址淲e first tried Perk Avenue in our Port Alberni store in 1995, and it became so popular we soon put a cafe into all of our stores. Community groups started using the space as a meeting place B次元官网网址� in fact we actually had to open the store earlier so the running and walking groups could get their coffee. And then we even hosted a wedding, because the couple first met at Perk Avenue,B次元官网网址� she says.
An Island original
The first QF grocery store opened in Qualicum Beach in 1982, when three friends in their 20s decided to resurrect a boarded up local store. Ken Schley, John Briuolo and Noel Hayward had worked together at a grocery store in Cranbrook, and despite their youth and inexperience operating a business, they managed to turn the little store into a success.
B次元官网网址淭hey were a fun group of guys. It was a young company with lots of room to grow, and from the beginning they were committed to giving back to the community,B次元官网网址� Rivard remembers.
One store became two, then 13, and this spring store Number 14 is set to open in ColwoodB次元官网网址檚 Royal Bay.
B次元官网网址淲e believe a grocery store in a small town plays an important role in the community. ItB次元官网网址檚 more than a place to shop, itB次元官网网址檚 a place to meet, have a coffee, or even something simple to eat,B次元官网网址� says co-founder and current president Noel Hayward.
Quality Foods has supported since 1982, and believe it or not, they were the first grocery store in Canada to have a , which they implemented in 1991. Through the decades theyB次元官网网址檝e stayed nimble, adapting to the needs of their clients with new departments and different services B次元官网网址� plus advanced sanitation tools at the onset of the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淲e still have our roots and we still run Quality Foods like an Island company. ItB次元官网网址檚 our people and our excellent customer service that sets us apart. We give back and get involved, and soon our visitors become more than just customers B次元官网网址� they become friends,B次元官网网址� Rivard says.
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