Interior of Simply For Life Saint John's natural market (Submitted)
The grand opening of Simply For Life’s Saint John headquarters on February 16 was a long time coming after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its construction.
Owner Bruce Sweeney says the original plan was for the headquarters to open last spring, adding further delays due to multiple supply shortages and construction material issues led to additional costs well over $400,000.
“The demand for our brand got bigger than we ever expected,” said Sweeney. “The projection for growth was about 30 per cent while we were doing this project, but within the transitions of COVID-19 the growth came close to 200 per cent of demand, so we had to finish this in a heartbeat.”
Simply Le Bistro (submitted)
Sweeney says they contracted a lot of local help from the Saint John area to build the headquarters.
“We hired all the stuff from Saint John even though we could have had cheaper stuff, either for electrical or plumbing out of Moncton or Fredericton,” adding, “We stuck to our roots – you have to walk-the-walk if you’re going to say you’re all about supporting locally.”
The new 8,000 square foot headquarters located at 643 Rothesay Avenue houses a natural market, retail store and bistro and a smoothie bar all on the lower floor with its head offices located on the upper floor.
They also offer nutritional consulting services focused on healthy lifestyle change, along with weight and chronic disease management, and all staff members have a background in nutrition.
Sweeney says over the last year Simply For Life Saint John hired nearly 40 employees with plans to bring the number up to 100. Future projects include a mental health retreat and both a cookhouse and greenhouse built behind the headquarters.
“We got five more of these stores in the works right now with the same prototype in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, but we have to wait until COVID slows down,” he shared.
This story was originally published on Huddle.Today – an Acadia Broadcasting Limited content partner.
