Groceries and Okanagan Falls. In the past couple years, it's been all about the drama, baby.
And no one has been more involved in all that drama than Dahlia and Derek Millington and son Malachite, a family from Alberta who arrived in OK Falls in October of 2020 with the express purpose, said Dahlia at the time, of "getting food to the people."
More on that in a moment. First, a little history.
Back in late 2019, the biggest grocery store in the entire region, the highly visible IGA, a fixture in the community for two decades and the only real grocer between Oliver and Penticton, shut down for good. The store blamed declining customer numbers. The local populace cited inordinately high prices.
Regardless, cries of "How will OK Falls get by?" were rampant, especially in the media.
But most people did get by. Turns out a lot of them were already making the 40-minute return trip to Penticton to patronize foodie giants like Wal-Mart and Superstore. For them, the dead IGA meant little.
But what about those with no transportation or limited income? At first, there wasn’t much aside from convenience stores. It was a sad state of affairs.
Then in mid-2021, there was Little Falls Foods.
The product of Dahlia and Derek and Malachite, Little Falls Foods was a grocer with a couple of twists. Not only was it completely vegetarian, it was also a warehouse-delivery operation where customers ordered online and had their purchases delivered. It was a forward-thinking concept and the timing certainly seemed right.
But it wasn't. Within a half year, Little Falls Foods was on the ropes. Whether it was the continued lure of low prices at distant mega-marts, the unfamiliarity of the warehouse concept or the off-the-strip location, the end result was the same -- the business was mere weeks away from closure.
In the meantime, local convenience stores were ramping up their grocery sections. The Pharmasave added more frozen foods. The Esso added a whole new wing. The Centex promised more groceries and take-out too.
By the time 2022 began, the hole left by the departure of IGA didn’t seem so big. And then in early April, it filled in even more.
The old IGA building, the subject of unending speculation, would once again be a full-service grocery store. It would be called Belich's AG Foods Okanagan -- after owners Mike and Kyle Belich, who moved from the lower mainland for the opportunity -- and it would open in late spring.
One might think that would be the last straw for the well-intentioned but long-suffering Little Falls Foods -- the little grocer that stepped in when nobody else would.
Then on top of everything else, the ongoing strain of the saga had taken its toll on Dahlia and Derek's relationship. Emotionally, they were faltering. Professionally, Derek stepped back from the store while Dahlia took the operations lead.
Like we said in the first paragraph, drama.
Yet somehow, Little Falls Foods didn’t succumb. Instead, it pulled a switcheroo. In a pretty big way.
We'll let Dahlia Millington explain.
"We'd originally come in with the idea of feeding everyone in the community," she said. "And I had the premise that people would opt to shop here rather than travel.
"But even though our prices were good, we couldn’t match Wal-Mart. So shoppers were still traveling to Wal-Mart and Superstore. And we suffered."
But that wasn't the only realization. Some of their products, it turned out, were selling far worse than others.
"What was really selling were specialty items," said Millington. "Products for special diets, local products, and our high-quality imports.
"So we had a choice. Try to pivot to our strengths, or end it. We chose to pivot. And then we heard they were coming in (Mike and Kyle Belich), and we figured if we were going to do it, it had to be now."
Soon, unwanted inventory was being blown out and desirable inventory was being expanded upon.
"Okanagan products, BC products, foods focused on people with dietary restrictions or chosen diets," said Millington in explaining the new focus. "So, gluten-free, lactose-free, low carbs, low sugar, vegan, organic. We're really looking to serve these underserved groups of people."
The lineup going forward includes diet/lifestyle products like gluten-free flour, low-carb pasta, organic dairy, vegan meats, lactose-free cheeses and keto cheesecakes, and specialty products like DOP organic pasta sauces.
"That plus local," added Millington. "At least a quarter of our product is farmed or manufactured locally in the Okanagan valley. We have local produce, jams, sauces, coffees, chocolate, vegan meat mixes, salsas, dairy and more."
But that's not all. The store has also eased up on its "warehouse" model. Now, customers can order online and take delivery as in the past, or they can browse the aisles and take their purchases to the register just like they'd do in a "traditional" store.
More than that though, Little Falls Foods now offers deliveries right across Canada.
"Everything in the store has been measured and weighed," said Millington, "so we can automatically calculate shipping and send products anywhere within Canada. That allows us, among other things, to ship our specialty groceries and wonderful Okanagan products anywhere in the country."
Will the abundantly tweaked Little Falls Foods succeed? According to Millington, the response thus far has been "heartwarming."
But like any good drama, the conclusion will be revealed…in time.
For more on speciality grocer Little Falls Foods, located at 5129 10 Ave in Okanagan Falls, head to its website.
