The West Shore is set to get a new grocery store by the end of May, as Quality Foods gets ready to open a location in Colwood’s Royal Bay neighbourhood.
In a news release published Wednesday (April 12), the grocery chain said the location will be its 14th since founder Noel Hayward opened his first store in Qualicum Beach in 1982. The new store is expected to create 100 jobs and open on May 25.
Announced alongside the opening date of the new location, the company said it plans to close its Errington distribution centre as of Dec. 31, with stores being supplied from Pattison Food Group partner warehouses in Metro Vancouver.
Quality Foods joined the Pattison Food Group in 2021.
“When we opened our first store over 40 years ago, the grocery market on Vancouver Island looked a lot different. It was dominated by local, traditional grocery stores. Now, Vancouver Island is similar to other parts of Canada with major national and international chains and warehouse stores, making it extremely hard for us to compete,” said Hayward in the release. “In order to compete and grow, it has become apparent that we need to change the way we do business and service our stores. We’re working hard to lower costs across the entire supply chain.”
The company said employees with the distribution centre will be presented “with a variety of continued employment opportunities to consider, including jobs with other PFG companies or at local Quality Foods stores.”