Dakota Foods Closed

Dakota Foods closed this August 11 weekend although any stock left Monday and Tuesday could be sold as well. The Clement family still has their location on Portage Avenue. In a day where every grocery store can contribute to a neighbourhood, the store at St. Mary's Road struggled with shoplifting, higher lease prices, inflation and labour costs. Most retailers have said the police strategy for shoplifters is starting to work and have asked for an extension but it is not to save the 60 workers at the store.

The old Safeway design of the building is still visible on Dakota Foods. It isn't clear what will replace the old store. Ideally, it would have been another grocer. Dollar stores generally won't be sellers of dairy or meat. As mentioned in this blog, we could really use discount grocers in Canada and still don't have any.

There were a lot of sad faces in St. Vital over the closure. A lot of memories of the 20 years for Dakota Foods store as well as as groceries past. Just prior to Dakota, it had been an IGA store. It is a very busy commercial area by the grocer. It seems the perfect place for that type of business to succeed.

Schools, apartments and various roads intersect by the store. Gimli Fish Market is nearby and successful. They may be hurt somewhat by the closure depending on what goes in the space left by Dakota. 

Grocery stores drive regular traffic to an area. While department stores have reduced capacity as anchor stores, a grocery store will have people from early in the morning till late at night. A shopping mall relies on this for success. It is also essential for apartments, transit and other services to have commercial hubs or areas become food deserts and people have no choice but to travel far for essentials.

It is the smaller grocers that have really suffered. One example: Academy Road had three grocery stores on it till at least the late 1980s, early 1990s. Now there is one specialty grocer. In general, people in River Heights have to travel outside their neighbourhood for grocery, banking and pharmacy. And now people in this end of St. Vital will have to do the same thing. 

Across from Dakota Foods were apartments, a hotel and many businesses. It truly was a hub.

The cross section of streets by Dakota Foods should still be attractive to some businesses.

Fast foods restaurants across the street.

There is already a Dollarama across the street so some grocery items are still sold nearby. Just no dairy or meat sections.

It is certainly the end of a multi-decade era of a grocery store where Dakota Food was. A sad time really. We can use all the competition in the food industry as we can. And something local versus travelling far is more affordable for everyone.