No Grocery Store in Port Dover

I have heard various reports of exactly when the grocery store will close. I have talked to employees who have basically been kept in the dark and they have been given several dates the most recent being the beginning of October, after the tourist season is over. I am more concerned about the people who live in Port Dover year round who are seniors, some without transportation, and no way to get to a grocery store. I understand there is a bus service that goes to No Frills in Hagersville, which I think is very generous on their part, but I spoke to an elderly neighbor of mine and she said how will I get my groceries home after the bus drops me off at the pick up place. She would have to walk several blocks to the pick up location to board the bus however she is unable to walk home after being dropped off carrying groceries that are heavy, I suggested one of those little carts, still to heavy for my late 80's neighbor. I will no longer shop at Sobeys as they are the parent company who is calling the shots in Port Dover, many people in Port Dover have been loyal, long term customers who have paid premium prices for their groceries, there is no competition here so we were at their mercy so to speak. I will welcome a new grocery store when it does come to town, supposedly a couple of months after this one closes, but I still have a bitter taste in my mouth about the way Sobeys handled this, they should be offering free service to their store in Simcoe if they really cared about their customers, and would continue to do so until a new grocery store is in place.

This seems to me a perfect opportunity for politicians to lobby the company on behalf of their constituents.....the residents of Port Dover. Councillor Wells,..... Mr. Mayor is this not part of your mandate?
Failing that we could get cking to write some letters.....

I've heard that it's either a Food Basics or No-Frills store that's planning to move into the building once IGA vacates it in October, but that's probably just a rumour. I don't really think that anyone else in the County would care that Port Dover may not have a grocery store. Port Dover has no real value to Norfolk County other than being a property-tax cash cow. It's funny that IGA's cited that they could not survive in town due to lack of business when there was two grocery stores in town when I was growing up.

It's funny ... They keep putting grocery stores (including the new one) where most people have to drive to get there. If people have to drive to get groceries, they will drive to a store with more selection, fresher food, and better prices. But if you put a grocery store in the middle of a densely populated area, where many people can walk to it (such as back in the downtown core where it once was), then you sort-of have a captive customer base. Unfortunately, that opportunity is now lost.

Rabba markets in the GTA is an example of a grocery business that thrives on this concept ... although their customers are even more densely packed in near-by high-rises so I don't know if even they would be successful in a town. And you can't expect a business owner to willingly lose money.

Back to the focus of the topic ... It is a concern that people on fixed income and without transportation, such as some seniors, have few options to get all their groceries. I'm also wondering how much a taxi costs to the grocery store and if that's a reasonable option for a couple of seniors (or whoever) to share a ride?

If people in Dover would actually shop at the store instead of going to simcoe closing grocery stores wouldnt be a problem.

I think in this case the people of port dover are to blame, if they even cared in the first place

The local grocery store was terrible. Poor selection ... high prices ... spoiled food due to improper temperatures in the coolers, or just leaving stuff on the shelf passed it's expiry date. I have no desire to support crap like that.

And it's not that the store is closing. It's just being relocated - although there are numerous rumours that suggest the current store will re-open under a different name (either way, they're both owned by Loblaws ... according to rumour).

Groovin wrote:

The local grocery store was terrible. Poor selection ... high prices ... spoiled food due to improper temperatures in the coolers, or just leaving stuff on the shelf passed it's expiry date. I have no desire to support crap like that.

I agree. When I lived in Dover I would slip to the grocery store but had to rob the bank before going/
The meat is horrid

Groovin wrote:

And it's not that the store is closing. It's just being relocated - although there are numerous rumours that suggest the current store will re-open under a different name (either way, they're both owned by Loblaws ... according to rumour).

Sorry Groovin, you've got the wrong chain.

"Sobeys Inc., headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, is a leading national grocery retailer and food distributor. The Company owns or franchises more than 1,300 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, IGA extra, IGA, Foodland and Price Chopper." - Sobey's Corporate Page

The IGA will be no loss however. It is a dump that needs a massive capital infusion. The last franchisee clearly didn't have the financial resources to make a proper go of it. If a grocery store is going to succeed in Dover (no reason it shouldn't) then someone needs to make a major investment.

One of the many rumours was that Loblaws is developing the store on Brant Hill and bought the existing store from Sobey's.

I just got back from a camping trip and did the basic groceries at the Dover IGA, maybe I paid 10 % more than Sobeys. I also only drove 3 minutes instead of 10, at $124 a liter, go figure. An employee confirmed the closing, interesting, I actually found one and they helped. At the RCSS find someone in the isles. Good luck. Something I did find interesting was a familliar face, a guy named "Marty", I believe "Freisen", He works for Sobey's, to "close down the store", didn't he desert the Waterford store?? Now there is a new owner in Waterford, a guy who ran the Brantford IGA. He's invested in Waterford and making a go of it. How long has "Marty" been taking care of things in Dover. It was a Saturday when I was there but the store was busy. With all of the new grouth, and all of the summer bizz in Dover, that store must make money with an efficient owner and buisiness plan in place. Maybe they just need someone who isn't there to "close down" and there instead to invest in the community.

Stevef wrote:

At the RCSS find someone in the isles. Good luck.

You can't be serious.

It's in the simcoe Reformer today, it's to close in October.

groovin the reason stuff isnt top of the line and fresh is why do they waste money stocking shelfs with top of the line stuff when its just gonna rott cause no one comes in to buy it? Once people stop coming and go to big stores instead the owners recognize this and downsize and get cheaper product to survive. Then when that customer who decided to shop at big places like walmart returns out the blue one day a year later for a quick fix they see that old produce and say wow now I know why I went to walmart. My bet is that grocery store never used to be like that and only became that way after everyone in dover decided its better to shop at big outlets in simcoe years ago.

SkullyCapone wrote:

groovin the reason stuff isnt top of the line and fresh is why do they waste money stocking shelfs with top of the line stuff when its just gonna rott cause no one comes in to buy it? Once people stop coming and go to big stores instead the owners recognize this and downsize and get cheaper product to survive. Then when that customer who decided to shop at big places like walmart returns out the blue one day a year later for a quick fix they see that old produce and say wow now I know why I went to walmart. My bet is that grocery store never used to be like that and only became that way after everyone in dover decided its better to shop at big outlets in simcoe years ago.

Do you live in Port Dover, i dont think so so how do you know all about this store

SkullyCapone wrote:

groovin the reason stuff isnt top of the line and fresh is why do they waste money stocking shelfs with top of the line stuff when its just gonna rott cause no one comes in to buy it? Once people stop coming and go to big stores instead the owners recognize this and downsize and get cheaper product to survive. Then when that customer who decided to shop at big places like walmart returns out the blue one day a year later for a quick fix they see that old produce and say wow now I know why I went to walmart. My bet is that grocery store never used to be like that and only became that way after everyone in dover decided its better to shop at big outlets in simcoe years ago.

No ... Part of the reason stuff isn't fresh is because some of the coolers were never kept at proper temperature. In fact, one had broken down and didn't get fixed for weeks (or was it months?), but that didn't stop them from putting stuff in it. Also, they just left stuff on the shelf past the expiry date. Lastly, it was a well-run store until the new owners came along a few years ago.

But having said that, a small grocery store just cannot survive as a normal grocery store given the gradual evolution of shopping in this area. If fault is to be cast, it would be on the owners for not altering their marketing strategy sooner. A No Frills may be a better direction (perhaps). A specialty market, similar to Rabba, may be another possible direction. What's certain is that small grocery stores, that try to be nothing but a typical grocery store, can no longer survive.

Given there are, what, 4 major grocery stores in Simcoe? I think Port Dover should be able to support a single major grocery store. It just doesn't look like anyone is willing to build it. I'm not even sure where they would build it, given that all the land within, and surrounding, the town is either occupied or taken up by housing developers. The land for the planned store on Brant Hill is pretty small (if it's where I think they are going), so it will likely be the same thing all over again ... only newer.

wickens wrote:

SkullyCapone wrote:

groovin the reason stuff isnt top of the line and fresh is why do they waste money stocking shelfs with top of the line stuff when its just gonna rott cause no one comes in to buy it? Once people stop coming and go to big stores instead the owners recognize this and downsize and get cheaper product to survive. Then when that customer who decided to shop at big places like walmart returns out the blue one day a year later for a quick fix they see that old produce and say wow now I know why I went to walmart. My bet is that grocery store never used to be like that and only became that way after everyone in dover decided its better to shop at big outlets in simcoe years ago.

Do you live in Port Dover, i dont think so so how do you know all about this store

No ive never been to dover, must be 10,000 miles away in the middle of no where. Second I live in a small town myself, smaller than Dover infact, my family is involved in a grocery store in that small town and it goes through like many others exactly as I described above.

Walmart, Zehrs, Sobeys, people will leave their towns, drive 30 minutes to get their, waste gas just to get the samethings they could of gotten in their own town in a store owned by a local. I do it myself, you do it to im sure, everyone does it, dumb actually but we still do it. So when this happens i dont think you can blame a business for going tits up and not stocking their shelfs with the quailty one always wants even though they only visit the store once a year.

Groovin wrote:

SkullyCapone wrote:

groovin the reason stuff isnt top of the line and fresh is why do they waste money stocking shelfs with top of the line stuff when its just gonna rott cause no one comes in to buy it? Once people stop coming and go to big stores instead the owners recognize this and downsize and get cheaper product to survive. Then when that customer who decided to shop at big places like walmart returns out the blue one day a year later for a quick fix they see that old produce and say wow now I know why I went to walmart. My bet is that grocery store never used to be like that and only became that way after everyone in dover decided its better to shop at big outlets in simcoe years ago.

No ... Part of the reason stuff isn't fresh is because some of the coolers were never kept at proper temperature. In fact, one had broken down and didn't get fixed for weeks (or was it months?), but that didn't stop them from putting stuff in it. Also, they just left stuff on the shelf past the expiry date. Lastly, it was a well-run store until the new owners came along a few years ago.

But having said that, a small grocery store just cannot survive as a normal grocery store given the gradual evolution of shopping in this area. If fault is to be cast, it would be on the owners for not altering their marketing strategy sooner. A No Frills may be a better direction (perhaps). A specialty market, similar to Rabba, may be another possible direction. What's certain is that small grocery stores, that try to be nothing but a typical grocery store, can no longer survive.

Given there are, what, 4 major grocery stores in Simcoe? I think Port Dover should be able to support a single major grocery store. It just doesn't look like anyone is willing to build it. I'm not even sure where they would build it, given that all the land within, and surrounding, the town is either occupied or taken up by housing developers. The land for the planned store on Brant Hill is pretty small (if it's where I think they are going), so it will likely be the same thing all over again ... only newer.

Sadly I see the samethign happening to any new grocery store going up there. What will happen at first is a great local thrush into the store with ohhhs and awwsss over the great selection and clean building, then as the years go by people will drift away and head back to the walmarts, the superstores and sobeys of Simcoe as they want to shop for everything in one single store. Then you will see that grocery store meet the same fate, they will be forced to cut costs and when people return the odd time to get something quick they will say to themselfs "this is gross, what happened!" and their rep will be ruined forever.

'tis the circle of life

Small grocery stores can and do servive. Hagersville isn't much larger than Dover, it supports 2 stores with a Zehrs only 10 minutes away in Caledonia. Waterford's IGA (Foodland now) just went through a major reno and found a new owner. I shopped there for years and it was worse for selection and freshness than Dover. Little Europa Market does quite well with all the "Bigs" around. I know it's still summer but the Dover store is always busy. For whatever reason Sobeys does not want to keep that store going.

..

Stopped in at IGA & bought a lottery ticket - that's about all they have left.
Signs are up from Foodland in Waterford. They will be running bus from Port Dover on Friday mornings - makes 6 stops in Dover. They are also offering a DELIVERY service - call in you order and it will be at your door in about 3 hours (for a fee of course).

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