A bigger and better store in Penhold

After 19 years in business, First Choice Foods supermarket finally outgrew its store in Penhold, Alta.

The 2,500-sq.-ft location needed to expand to meet the demands of its commuter community, 15 minutes south of Red Deer, Alta. – much like the expansion done to its sister store in Blackfalds.

Blackfalds Family Foods, owned by Gerry and Rich Knebel along with partners Jon Tait and Doug Dmoney, opened in 2004. The location underwent several changes, expanding first in 2008 to 7,000 square feet, and then to nearly 13,000 square feet.

The Knebel-Tait-Domoney team were a good judge on how to build a store large enough to fit a community, and now it was time for the Penhold store to get a similar makeover.

The project began last August and completed late last month.

READ: A store where coffee pods rule

At its grand opening June 28, early morning shoppers were greeted by a 13,000-sq-ft. store, renamed as Penhold Family Foods, with free samples of local products including Humble Hummus, local Kienna Coffee, and Nixon honey, as well as a few new sections including a build your own burger bar.

The store, which has 20 full-time employees, is similar in product selection and layout to Blackfalds Family Foods, including a full gluten-free section and a replica of the Blackfalds store's massive selection of Keurig coffee pods.

A full range of Safeway products is available, plus a fresh meat counter, hot and cold deli, and regular customer draws at both locations for products such as bicycles, barbecues and RVs.