(Photo: Employees of The North West Company and the Shamattawa Northern store before the grand opening of the new store)
Celebration and excitement filled the air in Shamattawa, MB as the doors of the community’s brand new Northern store were opened to the public for the very first time.
The new store officially opened on May 18th with a celebration that included a ribbon cutting ceremony, special presentations, contests and giveaways.
The store has been widely anticipated by community members following the loss of the previous Northern store, which was destroyed by fire in the fall of 2016. Since then, The North West Company has been working closely with the community to operate a temporary store that provides families with an assortment of essential grocery and household items.
“I appreciate the quick response of The North West Company in dealing with the fire at the previous Northern Store,” says Chief Jeff Napoakesik of Shamattawa First Nation. “Now that the new store has been constructed, I am looking forward to the expanded services the store will offer to the community.”
Residents were excited to see the wide assortment of products and service offerings that are now available to the community.
“We are thrilled to introduce the new store to Shamattawa,” says Michael Beaulieu, Vice President, Sales & Operations at The North West Company (North West). “We are pleased to partner with the Shamattawa First Nation on the new store and would like to thank the Chief and Council for their support.”
(Photo: from right to left: Will Mollon, Director of Sales and Operations and Mike Beaulieu, Vice President, Sales and Operations of The North West Company present a donation to Karren McIntosh of the Kisemattawa Kiskinwahamakew Kamik School for the school’s breakfast program)
As part of the celebrations, the Northern store was pleased to offer donations to the community. These included framed photography for the chief and council and a $1,000 donation for the children’s breakfast program at Kisemattawa Kiskinwahamakew Kamik School.