City councillor proposes survey to unearth what's keeping grocery stores from downtown Saskatoon

A Saskatoon city councillor is renewing the push for a grocery store downtown, and thinks City Hall can help by identifying why they've stayed away.

Downtown Saskatoon hasn't had a grocery store for ages. Two central stores, one in the Riversdale area and one in City Park, have been closed since 2015.  

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But Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block said a handful of proponents have contacted the city administration about opportunities to open a store. (She wouldn't disclose who they are.)

Despite that expression of interest, Block thinks there are too many barriers deterring potential grocers.

Survey to identify barriers

That's why Block is proposing a "market sounding" survey to interview potential proponents about what would be needed to open a store.  

"How do we attract it? How do we make sure it's successful over the long term?" Block said.

"I think that part of the problem right now is that we're not certain where those barriers are."

If the survey goes ahead, Block said it will be developed by the city planning department, the Downtown Business Improvement District and the real estate sector.

The survey would be sent to potential proponents, downtown residents and workers.   

Block added that the survey would help get past the chicken or the egg scenario: That the city's downtown can't have a grocery store because it doesn't have enough people, and that a lack of grocery store might be deterring new residents.

"Nobody is moving forward on these things," she said.