Approximately one year after Fraser Lake lost its grocery store, Bobby Hurry was working at his landscape business. A fellow walked by and they struck up a conversation. “He was on his way to get a bowl of soup from a restaurant because there was nothing else to eat in town. That hit me like a ton of bricks.” said Bobby. He and his wife Lori talked about it and decided they had to open a small corner store to fill the grocery gap. “I was a reluctant entrepreneur but the man upstairs showed me we had to do this so I became one.” says Bobby. It was soon evident that the corner store was not going to be enough to fill the need. The Hurrys then approached Community Futures Stuart Nechako (CFSN) with the plan to move into the old large grocery store in the mall. This would effectively take the space from 1200 square feet to 17,500.
Lori suffers from a health disorder and CFSN worked with her under the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities program and on the 17th of November 2017 “Canada’s Grocery Store and More” opened to the delight of Fraser lake residents.
“I have a health disorder and Community Futures considered me an equitable person and took a chance on me and basically gave me my life back.”
It was not the first time the Hurrys had done something to help the town they now call home. In 2007, 123 families in Fraser Lake needed turkeys and hams and the Hurrys through their landscape business and Dollar store decided to pay it forward and turkeys and hams made their way to those who needed them.
Today, with the Grocery Store, Dollar Store and Sandwich shop they employ 15 people answering the need for jobs in the town. And they are not stopping there. Plans are in the works to utilize that 17,000 plus floor space with more retail services needed by the residents of Fraser Lake.
Follow their story on line at https://www.facebook.com/canadasgrocerystoreandmore/
Watch Canada’s Grocery Store Success Story video below:
