Local Business


opportunities in North End Winnipeg store bringing hope and opportunity to inner-city By Bill Burfoot


Neechi Commons creating


I


t may be located in one of Winnipeg’s poorest areas, but one neighborhood business is bucking the trend by surviving the difficult times when others weren’t able to do so.


Neechi Commons (Neechi meaning friend/sister/


brother in Cree and Ojibwa) is a full-range neighbour- hood supermarket which also has a produce courtyard, restaurant, bakery, catering services, specialty foods, Ab- original books, arts, crafts, music and clothing, as well as a seasonal farmers' market. Yes, it has a bit of everything. Opening at their current location in 2013, Neechi


Commons is run by an aboriginal worker co-op. It is housed in a 30,000-square-foot, fully renovated build- ing located at 865 Main St. with north Point Douglas on the east and Lord Selkirk Park on the west. Neechi Commons has been a staple in the North End for over 27 years, employing young aboriginals and other neighbour-


14 • Summer 2017


hood residents while giving the community a place to call their own. With close to 45 employees, the staff-owned and -operated business has taken it upon themselves to try and bring positive change in Winnipeg’s North End. “We strongly believe in the economic development of this area and wanted to open a business that served the area with prices that were affordable for families in the community,” says president of Neechi Commons, Louise Champagne, who spearheaded the idea with other Ab- original inner-city organizers in the late 1980s. Starting out as a small, 3,500-square-foot corner store


on Dufferin Avenue back in 1990, Neechi Commons has managed to continue to grow in a very competitive industry. In an industry as old as grocery, innovation is paramount to continued success. Champagne says it was important for them to offer something that the bigger chains weren’t able to.


The Hub


Photo by Bill Burfoot.


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