North End grocery store opens
Photo: Kirk Penton
Kelowna’s North End neighbourhood has its first full-fledged grocery store.
Ellis St. Market opened its doors to the public on Wednesday at 11 a.m., and general manager Chris Hansen said the store will serve more than just North End residents.
“There’s nothing like this in Kelowna, really,” Hansen said on Wednesday morning, a couple hours before the doors opened. “This is for people to meet here. They’re gonna say, ‘Let’s meet at Ellis Street Market.’ It is going to be a destination store for sure.”
Ellis St. Market is owned by Mai, Don, Chris, Sean and Pauline Pham, who also own and operate Oriental Supermarket on Hwy 97 in Kelowna.
Ellis St. Market, which is located at 1095 Ellis St., has everything a modern grocery store has to offer, including bakery, deli, 40-seat restaurant, dairy section, specialty butcher shop and grab-and-go meal options that are made fresh daily. Hansen is a fruit broker by trade, so he has great relationships with Okanagan farmers and will be stocking the store with fresh produce.
The market also boasts a wide range of international products from countries like South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, as well as from Latin America locales.
“We have international foods, and that’ll be tied into our produce as well. So you’ll get a lot of produce offerings that you’re not going to find anywhere else. We’ve got a great mushroom bar and then all the different kinds of Asian vegetables and stuff you’re not going to find anywhere else.”
There are also plans for live musical performances, a garden shop in 2025 and cooking classes from the city’s top chefs.
Hansen said Ellis St. Market will compete on pricing and offer mainstream groceries due to its affiliation with AG Foods.
“They don’t open independent markets every day,” he said. “So we have the benefit of being a farmers market and having the vendors give us the discounts instead of head office. We’re going to be able to offer it here.”
Starting Thursday, Ellis St. Market will be open every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Photo: Mary Deacon
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