Altona Mall Lands New Stores

Altona is south of Winnipeg near the U.S. border and one of the successful rural communities that dot the Manitoba Prairies. Like other growing places, it also has local requirements plus a bucket list of stores and restaurants it would like in their town. In 2013, new ownership took over the mall in the center of town. Since then they have renovated and tried to bring new retailers in.

Home Hardware has just opened in the mall which leaves just 12,000 square feet of available space left to fill. A Tim Horton's was not in the cards because the available space won't accommodate a drive-thru. Unlike other rural malls, the central location doesn't make it as easy to simply expand out. Altona is already a town spread out so the mall with a grocer, drug store and a variety of services inside has become a magnet for the people living there.

Many Winnipeggers see the ads for Home Hardware stores on TV but likely have no idea the reach the store has in Manitoba with at least a dozen locations in the province. Friesen's, the big printing company remains a powerful force in the town and churches are in every section of the community. The hard working people in Altona are likely to see additional growth in the coming years.