Shopping for groceries in Edmonton just got more interesting

Consumers now have more choice when grocery shopping in the inner-city with the opening of Loblaw’s CityMarket in Edmonton’s kitschy Brewery District.

This is a new entry into the city’s competitive grocery market place as Loblaw’s brings its new brand to Alberta.  CityMarket in downtown Edmonton is the province’s second store to open in the province following the January opening in Calgary’s Sage Hill neighbourhood.  There are several stores open now in Vancouver.

The store is also one of the first retails to open its doors in the new Brewery District which is still under construction. The mall is very close to Edmonton’s historic Molson building on 104 Avenue. It has about 206 people employed there and will also serve the needs of residents in the Edmonton community of Oliver.

Loblaw’s has operated its other brands, including Superstore and No Frills in Edmonton for many years with Loblaw’s CityMarket coming into the scene as a new brand in Western Canada.  The brand was born in Toronto when Loblaw’s opened an inner-city grocery experience in the remodeled Maple Leaf Gardens.  The concept was aimed at foodies living in downtown Toronto.  A Loblaw’s spokesperson described CityMarket as an inspired food-shopping experience with quality, fresh food and lots of fancy items that are hard to find in standard grocery stores.

The Edmonton store is 40,000 square feet in size and offers hot and ready food from Loblaw’s From Our Chef’s line which includes curries, pizza and made-on-location sushi.  It has a coffee shop, gelato and patisserie made in the store, an on-site dietitian, a juice bar and an entire wall dedicated to cheese.  Unlike many supermarket chains, there isn’t a pharmacy in the store.  However, a Shopper’s Drug Mart has also opened in the Brewery District, which is owned by Loblaw’s as well.

Despite the inner-city location and a specialty concept, prices are not expected to be much higher than in regular supermarkets.  More CityMarket locations in the city should pop up over the next several years with the goal to serve those customers that want to shop in a smaller grocery store.

About the Brewery District

Still under construction, this shopping and dining experience is located minutes from downtown Edmonton at 104 Avenue and 121 Street.   It’s close to MacEwan University campus and the incredible new Ice District. Named for the old Molson’s building which closed in 2007 and has been preserved, this eclectic area is close to a diverse population with university students, young professionals and seniors.  As the area becomes redeveloped with office, retail and residential construction in the works, the city is planning to extent the West LRT to a station at 120 Street.

The District has free parking for customers in a secure six-acre heated underground parkade.

Currently there is a Goodlife Fitness, Starbucks and a Mountain Equipment Coop store opened in the mall.

New Urbanism

The Brewery District has adopted the concept of Urbanism which is a style of inner-city redevelopment that combines the elements of:

• Arts and Culture
• Residential
• Education
• Retail
• Government
• Health and Wellness
• Science and Technology
• Office
• Transportation