If you live in Eston or are driving through the community you may have noticed a new building going up just off of Railway Ave. The Central Plains Co-op is building a new grocery store and gas bar for the Town. Operations Manager Gord Van Kannel gives an update on how the build is going so far. 

“The project’s going really well. The exterior we're pretty much wrapped up on the outside. The inside, we've got some work to do, the general contractor will turn the site over to us here the first part of February. So, the inside we do certainly have some work to do in there, but we're pretty much on track,” Van Kannel said. 

As for the expected completion date and when it will be open to the general public, Van Kannel said it should be ready for Easter long weekend in mid-April. 

“We're aiming to get the doors open before Easter. That's the aim right now, and certainly, like I said, with some of the equipment deadlines, that's the thing that we're holding our breath on to make sure that those come in on time. So, pending that, we'll be opening the doors before Easter.” 

As for what the plans are for the old grocery store and gas bar buildings, Van Kannel said they have a general idea of what they are going to do with them. 

“We have two locations there right now. One would be the food store; one would be the gas bar site. We would probably rent out that location (gas bar site) and then the food store, there's a chance we will sell that site”, Van Kannel added.