The franchisee of the newly renovated No Frills in Nipawin started his path in the grocery business in a humble position.
“I started out in Ottawa and I started as a dairy clerk, helping stocking dairy,” said Matt Lebeau.
He got a chance to be noticed by the store management when he stepped up to cover the night crew chief during a dispute. There was then a renovation at the store and he worked with the store development team. They told him he was good at the store refurbishing business and that he should it himself. So he did.
“I ended up working for the Loblaw’s office doing store development for about three years and then I moved to Peace River, Alta. and managed a store there for a little over two years and then I moved to Morinville, Alta. and I managed a store there for a couple of years.”
He then became a franchisee of the Morninville No Frills for seven months.
When making his move into Saskatchewan, Lebeau had two choices: Nipawin or Humboldt. To Lebeau, the choice was obvious.
“Nipawin seemed like the perfect place: a nice, tight-knit community, you have the fishing tournaments, everyone’s super-friendly,” he said. “I just feel that Nipawin’s the perfect place for me.”
The No Frills, which was converted from another Loblaw’s chain, Extra Foods, held its grand opening Nov. 3. Lebeau said the opening was fantastic.
“I couldn’t have been happier with how we opened and, really, it just blew me away,” he said. “I heard nothing but positive comments about the store and everyone was really happy that we got a No Frills around here.”
What can customers at the Nipawin No Frills expect?
“Obviously, fantastic deals and prices, super-friendly staff, great customer service.”
As for the future, Lebeau said he wants to push himself and the store to be part of the community.
“My goal is to be a pillar of the community within the next couple of years and really make sure No Frills stands out above anyone else as somewhere that’s really giving back.”
He said they gave a cheque to the Salvation Army at the opening, that many of the store’s workers are part of Handi-Works and that he wants to get involved with the Hawks in particular.
Lebeau said he’s always open to listen to customer concerns.
“I just want customers to know that if there’s anything that I can do on my end to help them, just to come in and talk with me,” he said. “I’m in the store every single day, so come in, talk with me and if they have any issues, we can get that [addressed].”
