2024 Generation Next winner Nicole Koveos (Q&A)

Nicole Koveos

Director, Restaurant, Pattison Food Group

Shortly before graduating high school, Nicole Koveos was in a serious car accident. As a result, she decided to take a year off school before continuing to nursing studies. During this hiatus, she was looking for a part-time job and noticed a Save-On-Foods was opening near her house. She applied and got a job in the deli department. “Fast forward 20 years and I’m now the restaurant director for Pattison Food Group, and I’ve never looked back,” says Koveos.

Over the course of two decades with the company, Koveos has worked her way up from deli clerk to store manager to restaurant director, and she’s achieved some impressive accolades— including a 2019 Going the Extra Mile Award from Save-On-Foods, a Canadian Grocer Star Women in Grocery Award in 2022 and, in 2023, the store she managed, Save-On-Foods Lynn Valley, was honoured with two awards at CFIG’s Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year Awards.

“Every day I get to collaborate and connect with amazing people,” says Koveos, when asked why she loves her job. “I especially enjoy mentoring others and helping them reach their personal and career goals.”

See the full list of Generation Next 2024 winners profiles.

Profiles were first published in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Grocer