Dakota Family Foods permanently closed on August 11, 2024. The Clement family still owns their location on Portage Avenue. In an era where every grocery store can contribute to a neighborhood, the store on St. Mary’s Road struggled with shoplifting, rising lease prices, inflation, and labor costs. Most retailers have stated that the police strategy for dealing with shoplifters is beginning to work and have requested an extension, but it was not enough to save the 60 workers at this store.
The old Safeway design of the building is still visible at Dakota Foods. It is unclear what will replace the store. Many in St. Vital were saddened by the closure, remembering the 20 years of Dakota Foods, as well as the other grocery stores that have come and gone. Before Dakota Foods, the store was an IGA. The area around the store is a busy commercial hub, seemingly ideal for this type of business to succeed.
Schools, apartments, and various roads intersect near the store. Gimli Fish Market, which is nearby and successful, may be somewhat impacted by the closure, depending on what replaces Dakota Foods.
Grocery stores drive regular traffic to an area. While department stores have reduced their capacity as anchor stores, grocery stores attract people from early morning until late at night. Shopping malls rely on this for success. It is also essential for apartments, transit, and other services, as without grocery stores, commercial hubs may turn into food deserts, forcing people to travel far for essentials.
Smaller grocers have been particularly hard-hit. For example, Academy Road once had three grocery stores until the late 1980s or early 1990s; now there is only one specialty grocer. As a result, residents of River Heights often have to travel outside their neighborhood for groceries, banking, and pharmacy services. Now, people in this part of St. Vital will have to do the same.
Across from Dakota Foods are apartments, a hotel, and many businesses. It was truly a hub. The intersection near Dakota Foods should still be attractive to some businesses. There are fast food restaurants across the street, and a Dollarama nearby still offers some grocery items, though without dairy or meat sections.
This marks the end of a multi-decade era for the grocery store where Dakota Foods was located. It is a sad time. We need all the competition we can get in the food industry, and having something local is more affordable for everyone.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
