End of an Era
The Edmonton IGA store as it looks today. Photo | PJ Martin
By PJ Martin
Editor
The Herald-News
Most people have already heard the latest news that the Edmonton IGA will be closing, but many probably can’t remember Edmonton without an IGA store. The grocery is already selling out the shelf stock to clear the store.
The changes were announced to employees on Friday, the 25th, just prior to the sale beginning. In the immediate days following the announcement, the store was packed full of customers, and shelves were beginning to empty.
The IGA has been located at 1417 West Stockton Street for several years, but before that, they were located at 1101 West Stockton Street. Older residents (this reporter included) can remember Mr. Cavanah being the store manager for many years at that location.
Folks may also remember the sales events held over the years. Stamps were earned from each purchase and used to buy dish sets piece by piece at a discounted price. This was even used for the purchase of artificial Christmas trees. I imagine there may even be homes using those dish sets today.
The Edmonton IGA is owned by Houchen’s Industries, which also owns Save a Lot, Sonic Drive-In, and ACE Hardware stores.
Several rumors are circulating about the other businesses, but as of press time, no confirmation has been received from Houchen’s Industries.
It is truly the end of an era.
CORRECTION
In this article about the IGA closing, we were given inaccurate information. The store was never owned by the Houchens Group. The store was owned by Retail Marketing Corporation. WE apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
The IGA mentioned in the above article was not owned by Houchens Food Group. It never was.
You are correct sir. This was misinformation given to the paper. The following week a correction was published. It was owned by Retail Marketing Corporation. THank you for catching this. PJ Martin