Central Alberta Co-op is closing its downtown Red Deer Plaza food store after 56 years.
Following several months of review, Co-op decided to close the business this summer. The pharmacy will continue to operate at a new downtown location.
“Central Alberta Co-op has a responsibility to their entire membership to ensure that long-term sustainability of your Co-op is maintained,” chief executive officer Gerald Hiebert said in a press release Wednesday.
“As a result, we must adapt, and unfortunately, tough decisions like this one are necessary to remain viable long term.”
The store opened on Nov. 1, 1962, and it featured groceries, meat, bakery, hardware, dry goods and a pharmacy.
In 1974, with the purchase of the bowling alley in the basement, the store expanded its offering of hardware, dry goods and furniture. One year later, a cafeteria was opened.
“One of our first concerns when making this decision was the impact it would have on your Plaza food store team members. We will be working closely with our team members to assist them through this transition and we wish to extend a sincere thank you to them for their commitment to Central Alberta Co-op and to our member customers,” said Hiebert.
Central Alberta Co-op says it will continue to offer services provided by the Plaza food store, such as grocery delivery and the seniors’ bus program. The only change will be the phone number seniors call to place an order or where the bus will take them.
“From all of us at Co-op, we wish to thank you in advance for your understanding of what has been an extremely tough decision and for the support you have given us over the 56-plus years at this location,” said Hiebert.
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