Metro opens new store in Ottawa
Metro has opened the doors to its new store in Ottawa’s Lincoln Heights neighbourhood. The 40,000-sq.-ft. store—a new build—is on the same site as Metro’s previous store, which was located in an aging shopping centre that is being demolished in phases. The grocery store remained open while Metro built its new store.
“Our previous location was an older store and we were able to relocate on site to a bigger and better brand-new store,” says Joe Fusco, senior vice-president at Metro. “It gives us the ability to tailor our offering more to the neighbourhood and deliver more products and services in a bigger location.”
The store features a variety of fresh and local products, sustainable seafood, a full-service floral section, a pharmacy, an expanded health and wellness offering, and an expanded deli/home-meal replacement offering. “The store is really focused on fresh in terms of our products and services, including an in-store butcher, in-store bakery and an expanded produce department focused on organic and Foodland Ontario produce,” says Fusco.
The store has officially been named Metro Lincoln Heights and the décor features photos of local landmarks like the Britannia Yacht Club to pay tribute to the surrounding community. To show its support to the community, Metro is donating $2,500 to the Britannia Woods Food Pantry, a partner of the Ottawa Food Bank and Feed Ontario.
To promote the new store, Metro held a grand opening event and is running a campaign that includes radio advertising, in-store sampling and a specialized flyer.
The new store employs 130 people—30 more than the previous location. “We’re proud of the fact that a lot of people who worked at the old store moved over, but we also expanded the number of jobs we have in the new store as well,” says Fusco.
