Smooth Rock Falls Mayor Michel Arsenault—as well as many others in the community—are breathing a sigh of relief as a long-awaited grocery store there has finally opened their doors.

It’s been over two years since a fire gutted their old store, forcing residents to look for alternatives.

The Mayor says a couple corner stores expanded their inventory to carry essential items for people, but for full on grocery shopping, residents had to travel out-of-town.

But that’s a thing of the past as Freshmart opened December 15th.

“A grocery store’s a necessity,” Arsenault said, “We really needed it.”

“Especially with the older people in town…traveling in the winter time is not a good thing.”

When the old store burned down, the Mayor says the owners had to decide whether or not to rebuild.

That process was held up as the owners had to wait on their insurance and those owners later determined they weren’t going to rebuild.

Arsenault says the town then “took it upon themselves” to do something and purchased a building.

After all the renovations and construction, the new Freshmart is located on Highway 11.

Filed under: Local News