Most changes affect grocery area, with further renovations to continue into the fall
The Northmart store in Iqaluit unveiled a 10,000-square-foot expansion of its grocery space Wednesday morning with what officials called a “soft opening.”
“Holy cow, look at this space,” said Jim Caldwell, president of Canadian retail with Northmart’s Winnipeg-based parent corporation, The North West Co., during a preview for media and invited guests Tuesday evening.
Northmart deli assistant Candy Batario displays a barbecue chicken pizza, on Tuesday. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Changes include custom pizzas being baked in the store, an expanded selection of Asian foods, a Joe Fresh clothing line, a lunch counter and salad bar offering pre-made meals, fresh-cut flowers, and a larger deli and bakery.
A new entrance in the centre of the storefront was also added.
On the outside of the building, a design depicting a hunter and kayak, inspired by the late Nunavik artist Juanisialuk Irqumia, who died in 1977, is to be installed this year.
The store previously launched its pharmacy and optical clinic, relocated from the Astro Hill retail location, in mid-2025.
“Something like this doesn’t happen by accident,” Caldwell said. “The team did remarkably well getting to this point.”
Staff are stoked by the expansion.
“I love it,” deli assistant Candy Batario said, as she sliced a barbecue chicken pizza with what looked like a large ulu.
Byron Whissell, who started as a bakery manager four years ago and now serves as a senior manager, said he has chipped in with ideas throughout the renovation process which took about four years from design through construction.
Designers incorporated some of his input in the bakery design, he said.
“It’s so much better,” he added, as he stocked a freezer with frozen turkeys.
Innovations behind the scenes include rear-loading freezers, mechanized produce watering, automations in the pharmacy, a new roof, and the addition of a nearly four-million-litre water tank behind the store for fire suppression and an alternate water source for the city in a pinch.
Staff and guests explore the renovated retail space at Northmart in Iqaluit, on Tuesday. The new space opened to customers on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Daron Letts)
The furniture and clothing sections in the older part of the store will be renovated by the fall, said store manager Terry Lichty. A smokehouse will be added to the deli at that time as well.
The Tim Hortons coffee counter will undergo a makeover, including opening a new entrance allowing customers to walk directly into Northmart.
The KFC outlet currently on Nipisa Street will move in with Tim Hortons, Lichty said, to offer takeout service. When asked about the cost of the work, company spokesperson Brigitte Burgoyne declined to provide the amount because the project is still ongoing.
“This is long overdue,” said Mary Anne Walker, chair of the Nunavut Food Bank, who toured the store Tuesday.
“We need to have choices, we need to have fresh food, and we need to have variety. This gives people more employment — it’s great.”