Pitchfork Market + Kitchen: Everything you need to know about the downtown Saskatoon grocery store
When Pitchfork Market + Kitchen announced their intention to build a location in Midtown Plaza, the public reception was mixed …and I was left scratching my head as to why. Saskatoon’s downtown core has long been considered a food desert, meaning affordable healthy food and readily available fresh produce within walking distance are scarce to none, so one would think the news of a grocery store would be something to cheer about! Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely people cheering and I hope you're one of them! But there’s also a vocal crowd of people who think a beautiful downtown grocery store isn’t going to fly. Why? I think that some people don’t yet understand what this grocery store is, who they are, and what they currently deliver. So please, allow me to introduce my favourite grocery store in Saskatoon and let’s all get excited that their downtown location… which just got the green light from City Council!
Not long ago, I shared on social media a few reasons Pitchfork Market + Kitchen sets itself apart from competitors: their on-par pricing, delivery service, delicious take-home meals that also serve to mitigate grocery food waste, a great selection of local products, and of course the living wage and benefits afforded to their staff. But I needed to dive deeper to give the community a clear understanding of why this model will work downtown. And for that, I asked Chris Brychun, Director of Retail Operations some questions that I hope will find everyone cheering for the same winning team: Saskatoon.
S&L: Arbutus is a development company. What was the impetus for building a grocery store?
CB: Arbutus is a developer, and as such also a community builder. They’re behind the Meadows Development, East end of Rosewood in Saskatoon. As a community builder, they felt a pressing need to re-integrate neighborhood grocery stores back into communities. Grocery stores used to be the hub of communities, and with customers looking for more intimate and soulful shopping experiences – anti-big box if you will – this desire is fulfilled well through the Pitchfork Market + Kitchen model.
S&L: Yes, it’s anything but big box… but your produce prices are often lower than the big guys. I know Pitchfork offers a living wage, benefits for staff, and sells a lot of local goods. Now this might be a big Q but, how are you making it happen?
CB: We pride ourselves on having pay rates that provide real living wages to our Team members, a core concept we landed on before we ever opened the first location. A Team is as strong as its people. Appropriately compensating our team has allowed us to recruit people with a real passion for service, experience in the field, and a diversity that gives us a real edge. Our Team feels appreciated (and they are) so they reciprocate by showing it through the care and drive they put into their work.
Produce pricing is also a real hot button with the public, not to mention quality. We’ve been able to maintain aggressive produce pricing due to our hybrid operating model of Market, and Kitchen. This has given us the flexibility to run lower margins in some areas grocer’s alone simply cannot. We also recognized early that produce quality and price are traffic drivers, and builders of customer loyalty so, we’ve been relentless in trying to deliver the best quality produce while matching or beating prices evident with our competitors.
Site of the future Pitchfork Market + Kitchen location
S&L: So why downtown, why now?
CB: Saskatoon’s downtown has really been a food desert for over two decades. There has always been a need, just one that none of the conventional grocery players have been interested in. It’s too far outside their cookie cutter store box models. But the available space in Midtown, with the MEC having pulled out, gives us the ultimate location. There’s:
Lot and Mall access with traffic that comes with being prominently positioned both in a mall and centrally in the city.
Access to underground parking. Heated underground parking for grocery shopping is rare. Saskatoon’s only other alternative is on 8th Street at Loblaws.
Several overlapping demographics looking for a food solution.
Downtown residents, inner city residents, and people who work in the downtown core daily.
A unique business model which includes restaurant service and prepared meals. We feel this will be well received downtown.
Opportunity for a larger restaurant space that will fill a need for more restaurant selection downtown.
S&L: What are you most proud of about Pitchfork?
CB: The Team. In less than a year, we’ve managed to assemble a group of strangers and unite them in a common purpose. Our Team is the reason we’re successful! They are truly the reason we continue to grow and succeed.
And, I’m proud of our support of local. We’ve been able to create our own niche space in the grocery environment. Yes, we provide all the selection and basics of a grocery store, with excellent quality and value. But hundreds of our items are locally produced in and around Saskatoon, in the Province, and in Western Canada. This makes us different, and a place that’s a little more hometown feeling – comfortable, supportive, community building.
S&L: There's a bid to get you over to Broadway as well, perhaps you know! Can you speak to any future plans?
CB: While I can not speak to the intentions of Loblaws with the former Extra foods space, know that we were interested in that location. Having said that, we feel that the proximity of the downtown store will serve the Broadway and surrounding areas well and really, it’s still within walking or cycling distance. We also hung some Pitchfork banner signs on the Buds on Broadway building facing the old Extra foods….to encourage folks to come see us in Rosewood (Meadows) or, order online for free delivery!!
S&L: I almost forgot: will you still be offering delivery with the downtown store?
CB: YUP! We’ll still be offering free city wide delivery (orders over $30) – and offering service from both our locations. Each store will have the ability to be ‘chosen’ as your order point, and fulfilled from there. With the downtown store size being nearly 3x that of the Meadows location, that will also add more variety and selection available from that store.
Not to be forgotten, our delivery service also delivers any of our prepared meal items (cold or hot), as well as any item from our restaurant menu selection! Where else can you get groceries, and hot supper delivered in one shot?
And our delivery service is like no other. We call the customer if we need to make a substitution to discuss what they’ll accept. We always choose the freshest, best-quality produce even if we need to fulfill from the stockroom to find the best, we’re sure to choose the furthest-out date, and we often include free samples in those orders. Oh and our loyalty points also work online!
Me again :) Thanks so much to Chris for taking the time to chat with me. As a supporter of community-minded initiatives, Pitchfork Market + Kitchen has my heart and I’m hopeful that you’re feeling the same, dear reader. When I read comments under news articles on social media like “no one will be able to afford it” or “hipster grocery store, not gonna work” it was all the impetus I needed to write a rebuttal. People don’t know until they know, I guess!
I’ll be keeping tabs on the new build and do have a giveaway coming up with them so if you haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, come on over.
xo Maygen
