The owners of Sarnia's Bayside Centre have secured a local tenant, Davy Jones Quality Meats as its grocery store anchor. Representatives of Wilsondale Assets Management made the announcement at Sarnia City Council's meeting Monday.
The 8,000 sq. ft. store, to be located on the corner of Vidal St. and Cromwell St., will offer a fresh meat department, seafood, bakery, produce, deli and a modest staples selection.
"A second location has always been in the plans for me. This great opportunity arose and I had to jump on it," says President Kyle Deloof, noting it will be twice the size of their Confederation St. location.
He expects they'll be looking to hire 14 to 18 staff members for the fall opening.
Bayside Centre Representative Gord Laschinger says a local tenant is consistent with the nature of retail in downtown Sarnia.
"You see very little of any chain store of any kind. I think having him just compliments that sort of initiative that was started a long time ago."
Laschinger says two national grocery chain proposals were turned down.
A number of mall tenants have been secured as well and it's expected announcements will be made in the next two weeks. A recent demographic survey hosted by Bayside Centre attracted 686 responses. The results showed 87% of people believe its extremely or very important to support local merchants, which guided the owners' decision. A large majority of survey responses expressed interest in restaurants and sidewalk cafes, outdoor public activities, music in the streets and a possible Christmas market in the square.
