Team Welcome to the team

Meet Country Grocer’s Duncan manager Keith Woiden and assistant manager Marshal Dillabough

BY JENNIFER BLYTH

Few people likely know the Duncan Country Grocer store better than Keith Woiden. Not only has the store manager overseen operations for the last three years, he was actually brought in to oversee the store’s opening when 49th Parallel first welcomed shoppers in 2020.

Today, Keith is thrilled to join the Country Grocer team, with assistant manager Marshal Dillabough by his side.

Boasting 32 years in the grocery business, Keith got his first taste of working with an independent grocer as a high school student in the Comox Valley, before making his career as a grocer.

“One of the things I love about the businesses – and something that hasn’t changed in 32 years – is interacting with the customers on the floor and helping them find what they need,” Keith says.

As a student, he’d considered becoming a teacher, but as often happens, life had other plans for Keith. The fact that he still gets to work with young people every day and help them along their career paths is tremendously rewarding, he says.

As the store transitions from 49th Parallel to Country Grocer, the fit couldn’t be better, he adds.

“I started in the grocery industry by working for an independent and when I got back to working with 49th Parallel, I realized everything I loved about it. Hearing we were going to be purchased by the Country Grocer family group, I couldn’t be happier,” Keith says. “I only see good things on the horizon.”

With Keith’s former assistant manager moving closer to home at the Esquimalt store, he’s been happy to introduce new assistant store manager Marshal to the local team.

“We’re very like-minded in our approach to the business,” says Keith, who when not assisting customers is often spending family time with his wife and two daughters, one a Highland dancer and the other an equestrian.

Already familiar to many Country Grocer shoppers, Marshal was previously assistant manager at the Cobble Hill store, and he’s thrilled to help Duncan’s staff and customers transition to the Country Grocer family.

(And as a first-time dad to a three-month-old daughter, he’s also appreciating the shorter commute!)

Like Keith, Marshal started his grocery career as a teen. “It was my first job and I’ve never left,” he says with a laugh.

The “people” aspect of the grocery industry also resonates with Marshal. “I love interacting with customers and the community and really enjoy working with the team here,” he says.

As someone who’s worked in many different departments, Marshal is happy to jump in where needed, from setting up eye-catching displays to helping out on the floor.

“The community has been fantastic here and I’m excited to share with them what we do at Country Grocer. We really do care about how our stores look, our customer service levels and our communities – and we have some great deals!.