Castalia Convenience, the longtime operator of Grand Manan’s only NB Liquor agency store, has recently discovered it will lose the contract to a large grocery chain.
Faye Guptill has owned Castalia Convenience with her husband Roger for 18 years. For the past 12 years, they have held the NB Liquor contract to operate the outlet.
With the contract set to expire in November, the Guptills again went through the process to retain it.
Last week, Guptill recounted, a representative for NB Liquor dropped off a letter to inform them the contract was awarded to another business.
“It’s really heartbreaking to know that once this is gone out of here, my store could go under, I could lose my business,” Guptill told Global News in an interview Monday.
In order to first win the contract, the Guptills invested about $500,000 to purchase the necessary infrastructure.
While the alcohol does generate revenue, Guptill said, most of their profit is generated by snacks, foods and ice that customers end up purchasing after they buy liquor.
Guptill said the contract has been rewarded to Ahmet’s Independent Grocer, which falls under Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Owner Ahmet Tahan directed all questions to Loblaws. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Since news of the contract broke, residents throughout Grand Manan have spoken out in defence of Castalia Convenience. Posts have flooded social media platforms, and a petition is now circling to have NB Liquor reverse the decision.
Jordan Leighton, a councillor for the Village of Grand Manan, calls the service at Castalia Convenience “second to none.”
Leighton said his biggest concern is the village will lose its service, which has become a familiar concept. The only bank on Grand Manan is set to close before the end of the month.
“Big business seems to get the game in town usually. I mean, this is a small mom-and-pop operation. All of (the) island supports Faye and Roger in what they do here. They’ve built this business, they’ve invested their time and money, and now that their return is starting to payoff, they lose it, so it’s concerning for the community,” Leighton said.
NB Liquor
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for NB Liquor said as part of the traditional process, the provincial crown corporation went to tender for the agency store in Grand Manan.
“Once a contract term is close to ending, agents are notified that a tender process will be launched, and have the option to bid again,” stated director of communications Marie-Andrée Bolduc.
“In order to be fair to all bidders, once the evaluation starts all bidders are assessed against the same criteria.”
A point system is used to evaluate applicants based on various criteria, such as:
- traffic visibility
- hours of operations
- storage space
- cold room space
- alcohol selection
- available parking
- previous business and retail experience