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14 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 7 1988 A $1.5 M. vote of confidence in Queen Street business district Renovated and expanded Port Perry IGA When the massive construc- tion project at Port Perry IGA was finally completed last week, it signified more than just an expan- sion to a store. It was a vote of confidence in the future of Queen Street, indeed the future of the entire community It was a vote of confidence to - the tune of more than $1.5 mil- lion when all the costs for proper- ty purchases, labour and new equipment are tallied up by own- ers Jim Grieve and Alex Ramy. The expansion has give the store a completely new look, from the attractive light brown Victori- an style brick and arches on the exterior, to the wider isles, the new equipment, the deli and fresh bake shop on the inside. In terms of retail flor space, the expansion added 6,000 square feet, for a total of 15,600. The en- tire building, including storage and stock rooms is now 21,000 square feet, or nearly half and acre. In an interview with the Star last week Mr. Grieve and Mr. Ramy said they are pleased and very proud of the way their stores look. And the customers must like it too. "They keep telling us that we love OUR store," said Mr. Ramy. "I"ve been in this (grocery) business nearly 57 years and I've never ha) so much pleasure mect- ing people and: serving them," he added. This is actually the third ma- jor expansion in the last 17 years to the store at the west end of Queen Street business section. 'The planning for this expan- sion actually got started seven or eight years ago, but it finally took off in 1986 when Mr. Grieve and Mr. Ramy negotiated the purchase of property immediately to the west of the former store. ~ When the purchase of that property (the former Tripp real estate offices) was completed in August, 1986, the plans for the expansion of the IGA store began to take shape. The target date for completion of the expansion had been mid- April of this year, but poor weath- er last fall and winter were the rea- sons why the job was not com- pleted until mid-may. The store remained open through virtually all the construc- tion, closing for just three shop- ping days last week when staff and tradespeople literally worked non- stop around the clock to put the finishing touches on and prepare for the official re-opening. Looking back on the construc- tion phase, Mr. Grieve admits with a smile when there times "I wondered if we were ever going to get finished. And I"m amazed that we only had to close for three days." Prior to making the plans for the major expansion, the owners said they "considered briefly" the possibility of moving to a com- pletely new location. But they opted to keep the store where it is on Queen Street, and obviously they are happy with the decision to put the substantial investment into that location. They paid tribute to the small army of tradespeople (80 per cent from the local area) who worked on the project and did everything possible to minimize the incon venience for shoppers. Some of the new equipment that was part of expansion project includes $150,000 worth of com- puterized check out scanners, which are hooked in to a master computer in the main office. The number of check-out "> counters has been increased by one, and the courtesy counter has been enlarged with two cash regis- ters to, speed shoppers through more quickly. The full deli and bake shop have been expanded, the isles are wider with more "turn-around" space at each end, and there is a larger variety of products in all de- partments, said Mr. Grieve. One very interesting touch to the interior decor is the number of large photos on the walls, blow- ups of old photos of Port Perry in by-gone years, There are some 23 of them, the quality if excellent, and one of the old photos is of the store in Nestleton that was owned by Mr. Grieve's great grandfather. The owners told the Star the expansion was in the works long before plans were made public for a new plaza on Highway 7A, plans which include a major new food store. They acknowledge that park- ing is a serious problem (as it is in the entire downtown core) but they say they are presently work- ing on negotiations which will lead to a considerable increase in the amount of parking for their store. The Port Perry IGA store now has a staff of almost 80{full and part-time employees, in ding Charlie Lown, a full tim equip- ment and maintenance manager. While the construction 'work- ers and tradespeople have packed up their tools, and the staff is ad- justing to the new surroundings and equipment, there is still just a little bit of work to be done. Both Mr. Ramy and Mr. Grieve want to change a wall along one side of the courtesy counter. Being perfectionists and sticklers for detail, they agree this wall blocks the view of the store that customers get when the walk through the sliding doors. So, the wall has to be low- ered, something that will be done in the very near future. : It's the last touch on a project that started several years ago, cost more than $1.5 million to com- plete, and is a major shot in the arm for downtown Port Perry. Owners Jim Grieve and Alex Ramy are very proud of their Port Perry IGA 'Store that has just undergone a major renovation and expansion, at a cost In excess of $1.5 million. That's a solid vote of confidence for the down- town business district of Port Perry. (see story for details) SE The IGA store has been completely re-modelled inside, and one very Interesting feature are the blow-ups of old photos on the walls. The pho- tos are of Port Perry and area in by-gone days. 3 &R ELECTRI Service Changes * New Wiring Rewiring * Repairs * Alterations Electric Heat * Lighting Installations FARM - RESIDENTIAL - COMMERCIAL - INDUSTRIAL Now orrerinG .. POLE LINE & AUGERING SERVICE -- FOR FREE ESTIMATES CALL -- rut vn: 985-8667 can: 9859494" -- EXPANDING TO SERVE DURHAM REGION BETTER -- mo i nn,