There is an extra amount of super now at a popular Hawkesbury supermarket.
On Friday, January 31, an official grand re-opening celebration was held at Asselin Your Independent Grocer. Significant renovations to the store have taken place during the past five months, allowing new products and services to be offered. Those include a sushi bar, more prepared meals-to-go, a new cheese wall, and beer and wine department.
“Our objective is to give an agreeable and fast shopping experience,” said store owner Daniel Asselin, before he and Manager Corey Gray cut the ribbon to re-open the store.
“Our mission is to make your shopping as enjoyable as possible,” Gray said.
The store continues to offer a full range of groceries, a meat department with butchers on staff, fresh produce, in-store bakery, and Joe Fresh clothing.
Asselin thanked his family and staff for helping make the upgraded store possible. He described the renovated store as a dream made reality. Asselin Your Independent Grocer has 105 full-time and part-time employees. The renovations were done with the guidance of Loblaws, the owner of the Independent brand. Loblaws offers the well-known economy No Name products with their yellow labels and the distinct President’s Choice products as its store brands. Many of those products, including fresh items and others under national brands, are Canadian sourced and processed.
“We have a lot of Canadian produce and products,” Asselin said.
Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Lefebvre, and Councillors Jeanne Charlebois and Yves Paquette attended the grand re-opening of the store, along with volunteers from the Hawkesbury Central Food Bank. Asselin works closely with the food bank to supply it with items and regularly allows volunteers to collect cash and food donations at the store. The Hawkesbury Auto Club also has its weekly cruise nights in the parking lot of the supermarket during the summer.
Asselin took over as the owner of the Hawkesbury store in 2019. Before that, he had worked at the store since he was 16 years old.
During the grand re-opening, shoppers had the opportunity to spin a wheel and win prizes, and bags of free items were given to customers as they left the store.
Asselin Your Independent Grocer is located at the intersection of Highway 17 and Cameron Street in Hawkesbury.
Photos: James Morgan
