ST. ANTHONY, N.L. — St. Anthony may be one step closer to having another grocery store open at the former Grenfell Memorial Co-op.
A spokesperson for Colemans, a grocery store chain based out of Corner Brook, confirmed Aug. 21 the company has an arrangement with the current property owner to once again sell goods at the now closed location.
Colemans vice president of marketing Greg Gill said the exact terms have not been decided but different options exist.
For instance, Colemans could work with a potential franchisee, or provide wholesale supply of products and services to a grocer at the building.
Gill said a precedent exists here as the company already has wholesale supply models in place with businesses such as Bidgoods in Goulds and the Co-Op in Gander.
“In either model or option, Colemans will be involved with providing marketing and merchandising support in a similar fashion that we would to our current wholesale supply partners,” he said. “It’s something we’ve done very successfully through the years and the opportunity came about in St. Anthony.”
Gill adds Colemans is excited for the opportunity and has great confidence in St. Anthony as a market.
It remains to be seen what the operation will be called, who will operate it, or when it might be up and running.
The news of Colemans’ involvement in a potential new store arrives more than 18 months after the Grenfell Memorial Co-op shut down.
The historic store closed its doors in February 2018 after 105 years in business.
Last November, the co-op board accepted a $250,000 tender from a numbered company to purchase the property.
The current property owner is unknown, but it is not Colemans.
In recent weeks, the site has been seeing its first activity in months as preparations are underway for a potential reopening.
