Located at 687 Albert St., Superette Foods is an important grocery store for many who appreciate their community feel, reasonable prices and regular deals on produce. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

superette foods

‘They’ve always been great:’ popular downtown Nanaimo community grocer up for sale

Feb 9, 2024 | 12:46 PM

NANAIMO — A much-loved downtown Nanaimo grocery store is up for sale, with neighbours worried they may lose a convenient and affordable food option.

Superette Foods, on the corner of Albert and Milton St., has been an iconic building in the city for decades, with the current owner Garry Negrin operating the community grocer for over 40 years.

Manager Shari Sorensen told NanaimoNewsNOW in an email statement, Negrin, 72, decided it was time to retire and recently listed the two-storey building for sale at $1.6 million.

“He tried to sell the business (not building) to me years ago. I could not get financing. He told me then that if I wasn’t running it he would likely have sold. I held out as long as I could and told him in August of 2022 I was leaving. He told staff in December 2022 he was going to sell.”

Sorensen said her reasons for leaving include dealing with repeated instances of theft, staffing issues, and the stress of finding the best deals on food prices.

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“Customers seem to be under the impression that the deals just come to us, its hard work getting them and harder at reasonable prices because there are always people that feel they are paying too much at our deeply discounted prices.”

Superette Foods was well-known for its deals on produce and basic necessities, often taking produce other stores wouldn’t sell for various reasons, which they would bundle together and sell at a discounted rate.

Sorensen said she has worked there for 26 years, with 13 of those as manager, and is ready to move forward.

“[Garry’s] ready to retire and I fully support him. He said he is going to look after the staff and hope a buyer will keep most staff.”

(Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Neighbourhood concerns
Amos lives on Nicol St. and had previously lived less than a block from Superette Foods, using it as his main shopping spot.

“It sucks…they’ve always been great. We’ve got meat packs off of them quite a bit, pre-done meat packs, and everything just seems to be cheaper here than anywhere else really.”

While the future of the store remains unclear, locals like Amos are hoping the spirit of the store remains the same if new owners take over.

“That would be nice, I’d hate for new owners to change it all up and have this store completely gone, that would be weird. I used to live in the yellow house just over here, and it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to come grab some stuff, right?”

The property listing for Superette Foods describes the store as a steady business which includes a meat department, indoor and outdoor produce section, a parking lot loading bay, and an upstairs suite, which is currently occupied.

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