Celebrating
40 Years on Vancouver Island Started in a small town in 1982, and grew with the communities. Today we have 13 stores, serving Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanaimo, Nanoose, Campbell River, Courtenay, Comox, Powell River, Port Alberni and Greater Victoria
Over the years, hundreds of kids have had their first work experience in a Quality Foods store. Some employees have stayed with us while they were going to school, others fell in love with the business and have made a career with us. We appreciate all the people that have spent time working with Quality Foods since 1982.
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Small Town Grocery Store - Since 1982 Quality Foods started in small towns on Vancouver Island and grew with the communities. We believe that a grocery store in a small town plays a more important role in the community - it’s a place to shop, but it’s also a place for people to meet or have something simple to eat.
Vision To improve the quality of life for people that live in small towns & communities.
People Recruit and develop local people that are committed to providing friendly, reliable, essential service for their community; in a safe and hospitable environment for customers and employees.
Storybook To celebrate our 40th Anniversary we thought it would be nice to share our story with our employees and customers on Vancouver Island and Powell River. I’ve been lucky enough to have been part of the story from the beginning, a story that has allowed me to do what I love to do, and live where I love to live, on Vancouver Island. I am fortunate to have had partners like Ken, and Johnny from the start, we’ve had an excellent adventure and made a lot of friends along the way. Noel Hayward Inside this storybook, we’ve produced a number of short videos that you might be interested in. To view them, simply scan the QR codes, just like you do at a restaurant. Thanks for being part of our story, since 1982.
Justin Schley Vice President
Noel Hayward President and Founding Partner
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Quality Foods started in small towns and grew with the communities. The first store that opened in Qualicum Beach was called Qualicum Foods. It seemed to make sense because the three pals from Cranbrook never imagined that they would ever have more than one grocery store. Ken Schley came across the original location when he was visiting Qualicum for a friend’s wedding. He noticed a boarded-up grocery store and wondered why it wasn’t open for business. He called his two friends that were employed at the Super Valu Store in Cranbrook, BC. He convinced them to leave their jobs, pack their belongings and move to Qualicum to see if they could bring the store back to life.
The first store was a tiny 7,000 square foot grocery store in Qualicum Beach. Today the site features a 50,000 square foot store complete with community meeting rooms, Perk Avenue Coffee Shop and A Step Above area for locals to gather. 5
1986
The original Parksville Quality Foods store used to be called Robertson’s Red and White, owned by Bruce Roberston and his father John. When John retired, Bruce partnered with Ken, John & Noel to create the first Quality Foods in Parksville. As Johnny Briuolo says, “Bruce loved the grocery business, and people that know him can see why - he likes people, he’s just a friendly guy.” Bruce still lives in the Oceanside area and frequents the store. Bruce confirms, “It’s true I did love the business, there’s nothing like the grocery business to keep you connected to people in your community that’s why I did it for 40 years.”
2021
Next Generation Design Local company, CA Design worked with Noel, Justin and the QF Team to re-imagine the services the grocery store offers. The new Parksville Store features an UpStairs lounge, community meeting rooms & outdoor patio.
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QUALICUM FOODS OPENING | 2004
Lois laughs when she thinks of the old cash registers in the 1980s… When the first store opened, we had an old NCR till at every station. The cashiers had to punch in the price of each and every item. Back then Ken, John and Noel were everywhere, doing everything. Over the years they quietly helped a lot of people along the way, including my family. I feel fortunate that I discovered this opportunity, and to see our store grow with the community since 1987. Today, Lois still works in the Parksville store and continues to train and mentor all types of people that are looking for a little work, or just starting their careers.
LOIS, HEAD CASHIER AT PARKSVILLE
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1987
A culture of camaraderie and communication
People like to know what’s going on in the business
When we had one small grocery store, it was easy to communicate with each other. But as soon as we had a few stores, it got a lot more challenging. To keep people connected we started having casual get-togethers like company picnics for the families, Wednesday Night Golf for employees, Christmas Parties and special events like Beachfest and Fireworks displays. At the same time, we always knew that our people liked to know what was going on in the business. Noel said, “In 1987 we held our first Employee Annual General Meeting. The purpose of the event was to review the past year, update employees on plans for the new year, present “Employee Service Awards” and recognize special achievements.“ As a result of the pandemic, in 2020 we held our first ever Virtual Employee AGM. People appreciated being able to tune in, interact and participate in surveys without having to travel to a central location on Vancouver Island.
Second generation of leadership Justin Schley was 4 when we held our first AGM that was hosted by Ken, John and Noel. Today Justin is the Quality Foods CFO.
2020 AGM changes from a gathering to an interactive webinar!
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1991
2003
2019
My Daily Special
Now on the phone!
“Believe it or Not”
Ken, Shawn and Chris created the My Daily Special Machine that allows customers to select whatever item they want and put it on sale.
Technology that lets customers Scan the bar-code of an item anywhere in the store and get it at a Special Price. Try it, thousands of customers use it everyday.
Quality Foods was the first grocery store in Canada to have a loyalty card!
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1991 - First Electronic Grocery Loyalty Card
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1997 - One of the first in Canada for on-line Grocery Shopping
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2003 - My Daily Special
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“Some people wake up and play wordle, but I get up, play wordle and then check out the Appy Hour item! Wordle is fun... but Appy Hour saves me lots of money...”
2011 Appy Hour The number one reason Quality Foods Customers check out their App everyday is to see what’s on for Appy Hour. We announce the new item on the radio, on our website and on the phone. If you are looking for a great deal - see what’s on Appy Hour today!
*It’s like magic! Tilt your phone to view your Q-Card.
SHAWN, VP OF IT
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Q-Card Points
ANNIVERSARY SAVINGS
We’re always featuring popular food items that you can purchase on Price Plus Points. It’s a great way to save without cashing in all your points! Your Q-Card earns you Q-Points instantly while purchasing your everyday grocery items, and automatically enters you into all of our contests. Redeem your Q-Points
REDEEM
59,000 Q-POINTS
RECEIVE
5
$
OFF
ON YOUR CHICKEN OR BEEF PURCHASE
to receive special rewards, discounts and unique offers. Check out the Q-Card Catalog for exciting rewards program. qualityfoods.com/catalog
STAY CONNECTED DOWNLOAD THE QF APP
OFFER IN EFFECT UNTIL JULY 31, 2022
My Deals | Select Save & Win Our deals system is integrated right into the checkouts at all QF stores. Simply use your Q-Card at the store checkout and you will automatically get the deal price!
Select Save & Win is one of our most looked forward to events that we run from time to time. Go to My Deals, and play Select Save & Win, and you could win your selection instantly.
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1999 Sandcastle
In 1999, Quality Foods employees and volunteers from the Parksville & Qualicum Communities like Dave Bryan and other Realtors created an Adult Sandcastle competition. This event lasted about 10 years until it turned into a bit too much of a party. It was resurrected and reinvented years later by Cheryl Dill, Dianna Rivard, Rob MacKay, Ken Schley, Bruce Robertson and a local team of community minded people. This time, it was more of a family event with adult sculptures and a kids competition alongside of Parksville’s KidsFest.
Bear with Me in 2013, Fred Dobbs from Victoria created this sculpture while his young son played alongside him on a sunny Parksville afternoon. It was one of many amazing sculptures during the annual competition, and the story that went along with it was magical. Fred described it like this; It’s a story about a little boy sleeping with his Teddy Bear, and the bear is standing on guard to protect the little boy from nightmares, like scary dragons, while he sleeps.” It’s a story that resonated with the parents that wandered by, and the grandparents with their little buddies in tow.
Good job Fred.
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2002 The total loss fire in 2002 helped to create the culture that we still have today.
After the initial shock of the fire, and the relief that everyone was safe, we thought now what are we going to do? 1. How can we restore food service to our customers as soon as possible? 2. How do we keep all of our people employed?
Ken said, “Lets open a temporary store in Qualicum; and in the meantime, we could create a free shuttle service to the Quality Foods Parksville Store.
Noel says “We were devastated. It impacted so many people
None of our employees lost a days pay. Everyone pitched
in the community. When we look back on the event today, it
in right away to get a temporary store open in less than a
is a source of pride. I think the lessons we learned from the
month, and the Customer shuttle service to Parksville was
fire helped us over the past couple of years. We focused on
up and running within days of the fire.”
taking care of our people, our customers and the community.
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2005 Our office/warehouse used to be a fish plant. It’s located just down the road from the Goats on the Roof in Coombs. In 2005 we expanded the warehouse to serve our growing business.
Gary Dietrich, was one of the original partners. The BC Ferries people on the Powell River run know him well, because he still travels that route every week. He was a heck of a baseball coach too!
2013
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The second cold storage facility was built in 2013. Warehouse Manager Ben Simm says “Our two warehouses are located within a couple hours of all of our stores. It enables us to provide reliable service 7 days a week, and helps our store teams to keep the shelves full, clean and fresh!” * The Quality Foods Powell River store may be a little more than two hours, but not much! 21
2007 In 2007, Quality Foods was selected from applicants to win a place among Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies. (2007-2012)
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2013 Best Managed Gold Standard
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2014: Quality Foods receives the rare Platinum Member Designation.
Full Time with Benefits
Part Time with Benefits
Noel says, “Our people have always been the key to our success... ...they like where they live and enjoy helping people in the neighborhoods they serve.“ This “small town grocer attitude” has been even more evident over the past couple of years with all the disruption and uncertainty in the supply chain. We were very excited to hear that we were named on The Forbes Canada’s Best Employers list in 2022.
High School Student
Post Secondary Student
Casual
Creating opportunities for all types of people on Vancouver Island and in Powell River... For some people, work needs can change throughout the different stages of their life. In High school, maybe a student has time for few shifts a week to earn a little spending money, or a mom that needs to be available for dropping kids off at school or picking them up. Nick says, “We’ve been able to attract a lot of great people by creating different types of employment.”
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NICK, VP OF HR
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2013
Quality Foods restores the S.S. Minnow and raises over $300,000 for charities on Vancouver Island and the surrounding areas In 2006, the S.S. Minnow was purchased and carefully restored to be safe and seaworthy. It went on to raise thousands of dollars for local charities. Ken Schley said, “Instead of writing a cheque, we thought it would be a fun way to support the community. Major community events would auction off a 3 Hour Tour Aboard the S.S. Minnow.” Most passengers were delighted and surprised to know the Minnow was moored on the island. They were also surprised to learn that the captain on most of the charitable tours was Ken. Ken says, “I love boating, so for me it was a great way to spend a morning or afternoon, especially when we were raising so much money for the community programs.” In 2013, Quality Foods invited Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) to visit the area and help celebrate the Grocers 30th Anniversary. Dianna say, “Dawn was a warm and wonderful person to all of us and the customers were excited to meet her. She was delightful!”
SCAN TO LEARN MORE JOHN, DAWN WELLS, KEN & DIANNA
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2020 Helping to create a clean & hospitable environment for over 35 years Second generation of great service Kosta says, “Our company has been working with Quality Foods since the very beginning.” Derek Dewolf, QF VP of Operations says “In the early days Pero would clean the stores with his wife Mara. Kosta and his brother Spase were just young kids running around - and helping clean.”
Technology to help keep high-touch surfaces clean To give Kosta’s efforts an extra boost and create a safer environment for all of our check out areas and other high-touch surfaces were treated with Aegis antimicrobial surface protectant. Aegis technology is used in hospitals, medical offices and commercial buildings
The AEGIS® Treated Surface is like a bed of nails
Untreated Surface
AEGIS® Treated Surface
Island grocery store installs machine that uses FAR-UV light to clean carts, First in Canada says company
Quality Foods was the first grocery store in Canada to install a unique, FAR-UV Lighting System for sanitizing grocery carts. Over, 400,000 carts have been sanitized since the program started. This is what customers had to say... “Love shopping here, and this just makes shopping a little safer” “I really like the idea of no wet handles after sanitation” “I feel that it’s one more level of safety”
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A comfortable place to congregate for a refreshment, perhaps a pizza, an appetizer or tapas? Featuring local draft beers, wine and a selection of your favourite cocktails. Plus, community meeting rooms and an outdoor patio. Only at Parksville and Harewood Quality Foods Stores.
$10.00 TEN DOLLARS
GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR UPSTAIRS AT QUALITY FOODS PARKSVILLE OR HAREWOOD LOCATIONS
0
99999
79510
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EXPIRES JULY 31, 2022
NO CASH VALUE • ONE PER CUSTOMER
MARINA AT PARKSVILLE
2000
We had a second floor in the building in Comox, so we thought why don’t we sell the tools upstairs that people use to prepare the food that we sell downstairs?
Dianna, Quality Foods first employee explains where the idea for A Step Above originated, “That’s how it started, and then it evolved into a place you could shop for unique items that were hard to get, or impossible to get on Vancouver Island. Today, we still carry unique brands like SMEG, Cuisinart,
Le Creuset, Breville and Emma Bridgewater. Our people display them beautifully, and we sell them at the same price or better than Amazon. In fact, we sell to customers all around the world on line, from our select stores on the Island and in Powell River.
$FIFTY OFF Receive $50 OFF any purchase of $100 or more at A Step Above when you redeem this voucher.
$50 OFF
Offer valid all regular price or sale price items until July 31st, 2022 . One per purchase. No cash value.
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99999
79500
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Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner We believe a grocery store in a small town plays an important role in the community, it’s a place to shop, a place to meet or even have something simple to eat. Tina Fields, from our deli says, “We’ve got a lot of space in our large stores for people to gather during the day. And now, for Sunday Roast Beef, who would have thought that you’d go to a grocery store for a Sunday Roast. Our customers are loving it.” In Courtenay, Amber said, “It’s great that we’re able to provide a nice Sunday Roast, people have appreciated the opportunity to drop in and socialize with their friends and family. It makes me feel good that we started this program.”
Chinese Kitchen Locals know Quality Foods Chinese Food well, and now tourists have made it part of their summertime ritual too.
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Black Angus Beef
A consumer research project in 2017 inspired us to create our own unique brand of beef Colin Johnston, Quality Foods Meat/Deli Program Director, says “We were asked to participate in a large Canadian Study to get a better understanding of what consumers were looking for in respect to proteins purchased in a grocery store. According to Noel, “The research was so compelling that we thought it was worth exploring the idea of creating our brand of beef, based on the specifications that consumers said were important. We thought, after all, our name is Quality Foods! We worked through it with our suppliers and even went one step up to Black Angus Beef.”
Quality Foods Black Angus Beef
• • • •
Black Angus Beef Aged 21 Days Western Canadian Triple AAA
In 2018, the program was introduced to the delight of our meat cutters in store. Ray from Parksville QF says, “It’s great to be able to offer this to our customers. The Black Angus grade makes the product consistent every time, and the aging makes beef tender and flavourful.”
Celebrating our new Black Angus Beef program with a barbecue at the warehouse/office and a tour of all the stores to sample the product
Enjoy Steakhouse Quality Western Canadian Black Angus Beef at home. Patiently Aged 21 Days for tenderness and flavour.
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Fresh Produce delivered - everyday. Our produce teams know produce delivery people extremely well - because they see them everyday! Quality Foods stores get daily deliveries to our large stores and 6 days a week to all the other locations. Bill says, “The frequent deliveries helps to keep our produce fresh, and our produce people busy!”
BILL & DEREK VISITING OUR ORANGE GROWER IN CALIFORNIA
Ask the produce people in your store how many steps they get in everyday. It’s a job that keeps you moving, that’s how the store teams keep the product fresh.
When you buy Fresh produce at Quality Foods it’s good for us, and it’s
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A great selection of cheeses around the world.
Frank knows a lot of customers and Colin works behind the scenes looking for new and interesting cheese flavours to go along with the favourites we carry everyday. Customers appreciate Quality Foods for the best selection of local and international cheese on Vancouver Island.
Frank says, “Today so many customers are interested in creating charcuterie boards for entertaining at home. We bring in big blocks of cheese, like Armstrong Canadian Cheddars - they age well in blocks, and then we cut them down to sizes that make sense for families or small groups.”
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Fresh Baked In Store Vince says, “The people that work in our bakeries love to bake and create. And it’s a good thing because ever day there’s a lot of baking to be done!” Corinne says, “I love the smell of our bakery, and our customers love our fresh baked goods like signature cheese buns, cookies and breads. In the bakery we get to help a lot of people celebrate their special occasions with cakes and our signature desserts.”
The Flower Stand A Flower Shop inside a Grocery Store Our idea is not to be a grocery store that sells flowers; we want to be a flower shop inside the store. We’re excited that our florists are involved in helping people with all sorts of occasions. After all, florists love to create, and they love to help people. The Floral team enjoys getting together for workshops to develop their skills and see new ideas from our suppliers. We all love participating in the Annual Garden Market Sale in Errington. Heather Horgan
HEATHER HORGAN, FLORAL SPECIALIST
Community Events We’re looking forward to seeing the great community events that we’re involved in come back to life this summer. Get out and support the people that volunteer to make Vancouver Island and Powell River so much fun in the summer.
Festival of Lights Fireworks July 1 | Canada Day, Campbell River August 1 | BC Day, Comox August 20 | Beachfest, Parksville
One of Oprah’s Top-Ten things to do on Father’s Day is the local annual Show and Shine in Qualicum Beach! 41
Vancouver Island Grocers raise $300,000 to bring Life Saving PSMA-PET Technology to Victoria bccancerfoundation.com Vancouver Island Grocers raise $300,000 to bring Life Saving PSMA-PET Technology to Victoria This year we had the pleasure of working with our fellow Vancouver Island local grocers to help fund a new program for Vancouver Island. PSMA-PET Technology dramatically improves the outcomes for patients, but at the moment it is only available in Vancouver. We’re working together to bring it to Victoria because the sooner we get the program in place, the better the outcomes for people on Vancouver Island. Our wish is that you will click here to watch a 4 minute story about the people and companies that are working together to make this happen.
Noel Hayward
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Providing a voice for Autism BC on Vancouver Island and in Powell River Noel said, “I think Grant was the first sales rep to drop in and see us; and he helped us when we needed it most. We were so small & didn’t have a lot of experience - he helped us a lot, and we were not a very big customer. In 2017, Grant retired & now he’s a Grandad with a cause. Now it’s our turn to help him in his efforts to raise awareness and perhaps some money along the way. Grant is inspired by his Grandson. He admits Jasper is still trying to figure his Grandad out; and Grant is doing the same. He’s loving the learning along the way and the opportunity to support his daughter and other families on Vancouver Island. “I am a born and raised island girl, and look forward to supporting and connecting with communities throughout Vancouver Island. As a parent of a young child on the spectrum, I know first hand the struggles and triumphs of this unique journey.” Sarah Taylor Regional Coordinator for Vancouver Island staylor@autismbc.ca | autsimbc.ca
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2017 Quality Foods becomes part of Jim Pattison Food Group Joining the Jim Pattison Food Group provided us with the resources to grow while continuing to operate locally. We have a saying, 94% of our people live on Vancouver Island…the rest live in Powell River. We have introduced new concepts like the Upstairs Lounges in Parksville and Harewood, and created stores that fit with our belief, that a grocery store in a small town plays an important part in the community. We now have over 1,250 people working for the company. It amazes me when I think back to the original team of 15 that opened the first store in Qualicum in 1982. Today, that store alone has over 150 people.
In the center - Dianna Rivard From left; Lyall Woznesensky, Shawn Tomczyk, Derek DeWolf, Justin Schley, Noel Hayward
We’re inspired by Jim Pattison’s passion, energy and encouragement to explore new things and innovate. Quality Foods people appreciated the opportunity to hear Jim Pattison speak about life, business and the community when he first invested in the company. Today, Noel, one of Quality Foods’ founding partners, gets to work alongside Justin Schley and a team of people at the office, warehouse and in stores that are committed to improving the quality of life for people that live in small towns and communities. Noel says “We are very fortunate to have found an investor that shares our vision for the future. This provides long term security, growth, and creates opportunities for our people.”
Jim Pattison at the View Royal opening.
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D I S TR I B UTO R S
You’ll probably recognize most of the logos of some of the major brand names above. You might even recognize some of the names of the people behind these great brands. These are the people that we know, from Vancouver Island, the lower mainland, other parts of BC and across Canada. Some of these people we see every week, others we connect with on line, but they are all key to our business - because they support the idea of the traditional grocery store. We’re certainly not their biggest customer, but we do our very best to support these people, because they stand behind their brands and they all helped us when we had one little store in Qualicum Beach.
If you live on Vancouver Island, or in Powell River, you probably recognize this logo. Island Good is trademarked and licensed by the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance, a non-government, non-profit, regional economic development organization serving all of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands with a single mandate to help ensure a vital and sustainable Island economy. Quality Foods has supported local growers and suppliers since 1982. The Island Good Program has only been around a few years, but it makes it easier to spot local products, to support the local economy.
PHOTO CREDIT : HILLIERS FARMS
2022 | Q-Points on board with We are excited to introduce BC Ferries Travel Vouchers to our Price plus Points Program. Considering about 94% of our customers live on Vancouver Island and rest in Powell River.
Vehicle and Driver 799,000 Q- Points Vehicle and Driver 399,000 Q- Points + $40 Adult Passenger 199,000 Q-Points