New store on remote First Nation features Tim Hortons, KFC

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This article was published 19/06/2018 (2136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new Northern Store that includes KFC and Tim Hortons restaurants opened Wednesday on the remote Garden Hill First Nation.

The North West Company, which runs a chain of grocery and dry goods stores in remote locations across Canada’s North, said the new location will make shopping a lot more convenient in the Oji-Cree community, located about 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

“The introduction of a Tim Hortons, KFC and full-serve hot deli will offer a great variety of meal options for the customer on the go,” a statement from North West stated. “The store will also feature an expanded selection of fresh produce.”

Until Wednesday, grocery shopping involved a boat ride or a trip across a frozen lake to the nearby Stevenson Island.

Garden Hill is part of the Island Lake group of communities, along with Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and Red Sucker Lake. The population of the four First Nations combined is upwards of 10,000.

Garden Hill was heralded for opening the first dialysis unit outside a Manitoba hospital in 2004. The region lobbied for the unit, which continues to operate, because of soaring rates of diabetes.

Island Lake was also the location of wildfires that forced the evacuation of thousands to the south last summer and the announcement is among the first to talk about new commercial construction since the fire.

Garden Hill Chief Dino Flett welcomed the new mainland location.

“Having a Northern store right here in Garden Hill will make grocery shopping much more convenient for families,” he said in the statement.