Christensen’s Clover Farm brings people to downtown Standard
By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter
Adelle Ellis Photo
Residents noted that for the first time in what feels like forever, Standard’s main street – The Broadway – is filled with cars and a breath of fresh air, and opening day was one of the first real opportunities for locals to see and visit with people they haven’t seen in a while.
Following the closure of Standard Co-op in March 2018, a local group of 30 invested residents formed The Broadway Group to purchase the empty building with plans to upgrade the old freezers and refrigeration system in the store before finding suitable operators to open a new general store. Several applications were submitted to the group but none of them quite seemed to fit the bill until locals and investors with The Broadway Group, Ed and Cathy Christensen, submitted their application and plan for the store.
“We love where we live and we wanted to make sure it was something that continued to be a nice place to live; a store is very important, somebody had to do it,” said Cathy Christensen.
“As time went on (I) started thinking I wouldn’t mind doing that because it’s been a childhood dream of mine to own a store,” said Ed Christensen, whose dream came true when their proposal was accepted in December 2018.
The Christensens partnered with Sobeys and the Clover Farm brand, which is a well-known brand for smaller towns in the Maritimes. Christensen’s Clover Farm is the flagship Clover Farm store in Western Canada.
The Christensens have received first-class help from the Sobeys team which has flown out several specialists to help set up the store, and offer training and assistance to allow for a smooth opening.
The Christensens noted that opening the store wouldn’t have been possible without the help they received from Sobeys, members of The Broadway Group and other volunteers.
“We need to just thank the community. I know that they’ve been waiting for a long time but it also felt like they’ve been part of it with us because so many people have been involved … it really has been a community process,” said Cathy.
With over 2,000 food products and over 200 liquor products on the shelves, Christensen’s Clover Farm is a fully-stocked grocery store with competitive prices to make grocery shopping easily accessible and affordable.
The store is complete with shelves of pet products, household items, canned goods, dairy products, fresh vegetables, a fully operating butcher section with fresh cut meat, a brand new fresh in-store baking centre for daily fresh baked breads and pastries, and brand new in store is a walk-in liquor cooler or “beer cave.”
They soon hope to get a water station up and running, bring in lunch items such as soup and sandwiches and a slurpee machine, and they are trying to apply for a lottery licence. They are also brainstorming ideas for a loyalty reward program for customers.
“Everybody likes that there’s so much selection; they’re really enjoying the layout, how nice it looks, they’re really loving the smell of fresh bread when they walk through the doors,” said Ed, who added the enthusiasm and quantity of the people along with the positive comments they are receiving is a rewarding experience.
The Christensens also hope the opening of the new store is the push the village needs to bring in new residents and help the unique village to grow.
“I have never seen so many cars in Standard in a long time; it’s time … we need this big time,” said local postal worker Marlene Kuca.
Currently, only the grocery side of the building is in use and The Broadway Group has no current plans for the old hardware side of the building.
An official grand opening celebration and barbecue will be held sometime in May to mark the occasion and to thank the volunteers and local shoppers.
“Our community seems to be quite unique with its heritage and there seems to be a true community spirit,” said Cathy. “There’s a connection happening here that is a community spirit connection for sure.”