At 9 a.m. this morning, the doors officially opened to the Penticton Winners and HomeSense Superstore.
By 9:05, more than 100 people had already flocked into the store.
Announced in March, the HomeSense expansion to the already existing Winners retail outlet went up rather quickly and brought the total square footage of the complex to 32,000.
What customers didn't get to see this morning was the rah-rah session beforehand, where store manager Cheryl Zamalynski presided over a rather bubbly affair that included employees, out of town reps, and local politicians.
The mood was distinctly upbeat, but what was most apparent is just how tiny this rather large group of people looked inside the new digs. The place is huge.
Penticton's Wendy Smith was one of the first through the doors, saying she's been "counting down for the past couple of months to this day."
"I've been waiting for some great deals, some great deals for the home. We used to go to the Kelowna store four or five times a year. HomeSense is a pretty good name and we always shop at Winners too. They're good brand names that you can't find around here."
Donna Singbush, also of Penticton, echoed those thoughts.
"I got off work at 8 o'clock and I figured it’s the place to be," she said. "They don't have this anywhere in Penticton. I've been waiting for this, and it's gorgeous here. Very refreshing to get something like this here in Penticton finally."
Husband and wife Brian Ewen and Mary Olivier have lived here for fifteen years, and they both said they've been waiting for the mega-store to open.
"We don't always want to go to Kelowna to get the choices they have there," said Olivier. "It's wonderful to have this, and Winners, together in one spot."
She added that they'd like to see other similar stores in Penticton. "Driving the road to Kelowna in the summer, they're busy with tourists. And driving in the winter, there's only one way. And if there's an accident, you're stuck."
"There's also a lot of people to the south of us, and the east and west. Somebody driving to Kelowna from Princeton, that’s a very long drive."
We asked Mayor John Vassilaki, who was all smiles during the ceremony and the ribbon-cutting, if the opening was an indication that Penticton is indeed open for business to other major chains that are currently accessible only by driving 50 kilometers north.
"The city is prepared to help any corporation that wants to come here, any box store, we'll bend backwards to make it as easy as possible for them to come here," he said. "As long as I'm mayor, everybody has an opportunity to come here and prosper."
We then asked if he was aware of any other "big box" stores that are ready right now to make the commitment.
"I don't," he said, "but even if there was, they'd want us to keep quiet about it until they themselves make the announcement."
We asked him to clarify. Did he not know of any, or was he simply unwilling to say?
"Well, a little bit of both," he said with a laugh. "There's always things coming down the pike. We have many people coming into city hall and asking how they can go about doing this or that or locating here. We're getting that all the time."
One thing was certain. Vassilaki was happy with today's events, and with the store itself.
"It means great things for Penticton. It means that big business thinks of Penticton as a place to locate and spend their money. And that's what they've done here. It's beautiful, very impressive."
According to store management, the Superstore will employ 90 people, including 50 new hires made after the expansion was announced.
Said Vassilaki, "The new people they've hired to run this portion of the store is fantastic. We need this kind of economic driver here. And with this store, we're keeping our money in our community rather than sending it away."
Going forward, the Penticton Winners and HomeSense Superstore, located at 98 Warren Avenue East, is open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
