The flagship of Tseshaht First Nation’s economic development program is on the verge of a massive new expansion.
Tseshaht Market first opened as a solely-owned private business in 1979, and since those early days, the little store on Highway 4 west of Port Alberni has evolved.
On site is a full-service branch of the Bank of Montreal and the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation. Tseshaht Market offers a full-service fuel bar and grocery store. When it opens, the latest expansion will double the size of the Market.
“This is one of the positive economic stories in the Alberni Valley, not just for Tseshaht, but for the greater community,” Tseshaht Chief Councillor Hugh Braker said.
“Thanks to the vision of our Board of Directors, and hard work and commitment of our staff, we expect to announce our grand opening in late September,” general manager Gary Casavant said earlier in the week.
“This expansion will allow us to meet the needs of our customers with our continued emphasis on providing great customer service.”
One of the main enhancements to the Market will be a greatly expanded food service, with hot and cold meals and snacks, including a submarine sandwich deli, with seating for up to 50 patrons. Braker said there would be no franchise products – all food will be prepared in-house.
“One of the great things is that all of the profits generated by the Market stay here in the Alberni Valley,” Braker said. “We pay a yearly franchise fee to FAS Gas; the rest goes to services for Tseshaht.”
Braker added that the Market has been a corporate sponsor for a huge number of local events and initiatives over the years, most recently the Thunder in the Valley drag race meet.
Project manager Don Anderson said construction is on time and on budget. Many of the workers on site are Tseshaht members. Anderson said one of the goals of the project has been to use as much local labour and materials as possible.
“All of the trades have been local, except the steel erectors,” Anderson said.
Much of the interior lumber was cut nearby at Nagaard Mill and even the exterior cultured stone was purchased locally.
“We ripped off the whole exterior of the old building – it was white stucco – to integrate the exterior into one design,” Anderson said, adding that the price on the material was so good, it was decided to bring the stone finish into the interior.
Braker said the construction has employed about 15 workers, and the expansion would result in about 10 more full-time jobs. Part of that will result from expanded hours, with the fuel bar and food service staying open till midnight.
Assistant manager Claudine Watts said the new food services would be added incrementally.
“We have a deli already and we have a staff. We will start one new program at a time,” Watts said. “We already have the grab-and-go sandwich, and it will expand to a design-your-own sandwich.”
Watts said the submarine counter will resemble a franchise-type set-up, but everything will be made in-house.
“We will be hiring more staff, and they will all have Food Safe training, and all other requirements,” she said.
Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director Mike Carter said the Tseshaht Market complex has emerged as an important element in serving both the tourist economy and for the surrounding community.
“It is really an anchor for Sproat Lake and the reserves, and the last chance-to-dance for visitors heading to the West Coast,” Carter said. “I think Tseshaht were really wise to expand and to add other amenities. I think they’ll do really well. With the amount of traffic that goes by there, I don’t see how they can miss.”
Carter said the visibility of the Market expansion would raise the economic profile of Tseshaht First Nation yet one more notch.
“They’re an important part of our tourism industry and they are becoming a major employer as well,” Carter said. “Their economic development initiatives seem to be working well.”
Braker said his nation is now looking at the former Sproat Lake School site for future expansion. Tseshaht purchased the school in 2004, which is built in four modules, after it was closed down the previous year, but it has remained vacant and is in a state of disrepair.
“We’re now looking at options for commercial expansion on our adjacent land,” Braker said. “The school site is off-reserve and privately-owned.”
The school was built on part of a 240-acre parcel, known as "alienated cut-off land,” that was sliced off the north end of Tsahaheh Indian Reserve #1 in 1916, as part of a “re-adjustment” of native lands on the West Coast. The massive reduction of the reserve land base was based on the rapidly declining aboriginal population that came as the result of introduced diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis.
“There will be development, but it will all be subject to consultation and approval by our members,” Braker said.
The parcel is currently zoned Institutional, and would have to be rezoned Commercial by Alberni Clayoquot Regional District.
“But we don’t anticipate any difficulties getting re-zoning, based on our record of creating successful businesses,” Braker said.
The architectural highlight of the expanded Market will be the cut-glass entranceway designed by Gordon Dick and executed by Todd Robinson. Work is still in progress, but Anderson said he believes it will immediately become one of the most iconic images of the Alberni Valley.
“We’re going to keep it under wraps until the grand opening,” he said. “When you see it from the highway at night, lit from the inside, it’s going to be stunning.”
