Just when you thought the Sudbury Costco parking lot couldn’t get any busier, Loblaws confirms it is opening one of its discount grocery store chains in the same strip mall. Sudbury’s No Frills store will be opening later this summer in the retail space that was formerly Bouclair on the Kingsway, located between the Costco gas station and the Indigo - Chapters bookstore. No Frills is joining more than 30 other big box stores in the commercial development owned by RioCan Centre Sudbury, including the movie theatre, Best Buy, Winners and Boston Pizza. The store will be nearly 12, 000 square feet and sits next to Ren’s Pets, which is just under 10,000 square feet. Last year, the Canadian Press reported grocery conglomerate Loblaw was testing smaller-format discount stores across the country as shoppers looked for ways to save money. “We’re able to offer an entire shop within the space of 10,000 square feet … that we don’t have a hard discount presence in,” said Melanie Singh, Loblaw’s discount division leader, in an interview at the May 30, 2024, grand opening of the first store in the rollout. “So we’re super proud of that.” No Frills celebrated the opening of its 300th store in December. “Hard discount has been front and centre in the retailer’s expansion strategy for 2025,” Grocery Business said in March. “Of the 80 stores that Loblaw plans to open in 2025, 50 will be No Frills and Maxi locations.” How the new Sudbury grocery store will impact the flow of traffic has yet to be seen, but if it is anything like the opening of the Costco gas bar in 2022, shoppers will be fine. No sign is up yet at the seemingly empty retail space, but the windows are covered with paper and it appears contractors are working inside. There has been no firm opening date announced by Loblaw yet.
