Roseisle’s community spirit saved the town’s only store 20 years ago — and two decades later, the volunteer-run Roseisle Community Grocery Co-op is still thriving.
Two decades ago, Roseisle’s only store was preparing to shut down, leaving the community without a grocery store, post office or gas station. Faced with the loss of vital services, a group of local volunteers stepped up to build a new general store.
They fundraised tirelessly, raising enough to pay half the mortgage on the new building — enough to get the project off the ground. The Roseisle Community Grocery Co-op officially opened the same day the former store closed, marking the beginning of a grassroots success story.
“The store was pretty much built by volunteers out of a desire to continue to have groceries and gas and the post office still in Roseisle,” said Cindy McDonald, manager of the store.
McDonald’s father was one of the original volunteers and served on the first board of directors. She has witnessed the store’s journey from the beginning and said the original focus was on providing groceries. They offered fuel, built a deli section and stocked the shelves to serve as a full-service grocery store.
“Over the years, we’ve realized we can’t compete with Walmart and Superstore and the big chains,” said McDonald. “So, we’ve evolved over time.”
The store has since shifted to operate more as a convenience store. While it still carries a selection of groceries, many of the products are locally sourced — beef, bison and pork from area producers, local honey, and more. McDonald makes a point to support local suppliers whenever possible.
“That’s where we can really sell,” she said. “Because I can be better than Walmart and Superstore at that.”
One of the biggest changes over the years was the removal of an aisle of groceries to make room for sit-down dining. The co-op now offers homemade lunches Monday to Friday and breakfasts on weekends. Each lunch features a soup and main dish, with recent soups including red cabbage borscht, beer and cheese, gnocchi sausage, Philly cheesesteak, and classic chicken noodle. Mains have included smokies and pasta salad, bison burgers and potato salad, egg salad wraps, mozza burgers and chicken Kiev with mashed potatoes. McDonald also prepares desserts when she can, such as apple coffee cake, gingerbread cheesecake and raspberry lemon cupcakes.
Standard Photos Submitted
Cakes at the Roseisle Community Grocery Co-op’s 20th anniversary barbecue featured photos of the store — one taken shortly after it opened in 2004, and the other showing it today
On a typical day, the store serves eight to 20 lunch customers, and up to 30 breakfasts on weekends.
“Soup is incredibly popular,” she said. “We’re really happy with that change. We change as we need to.”
In recent years, the store has also added a liquor section — a decision driven by customer demand. Roseisle is in a recreational area frequented by campers, ATVers, snowmobilers and skiers, and many visitors requested the addition.
“They said, ‘You have everything we need here — propane, fuel, groceries. All we need is liquor,’” said McDonald. “Campers are a massive support of the store.”
The store also sells soft and hard ice cream in a wide range of flavours, which draws regular summer crowds. In addition, McDonald began offering bulk food options, giving customers better deals on essentials without having to travel far.
“We’re always trying to evolve to where we see a need,” she said. “As we see needs, we try to fill them. That’s really the goal. We don’t have everything — we can’t — but we likely have what you need when you need it.”
Not every idea has been a success. McDonald said trying to stock every kind of grocery led to excess waste as products spoiled. When something doesn’t work, they pivot and try something new.
The current board of directors includes six volunteers. For the past 20 years, the co-op has relied entirely on volunteer board hours to stay afloat — and that’s not expected to change.
“There’s a lot of work and dedication involved to keep it going,” said McDonald. “We have a very dedicated local staff.”
To celebrate the milestone, the co-op held a community barbecue on Saturday, May 10. It’s tradition to mark big anniversaries this way, and McDonald said she wanted to keep that tradition alive.
DMM Energy, the co-op’s fuel supplier, sponsored the barbecue in part with JMS Enterprises. DMM gave away branded sunglasses and frisbees to attendees. More than 100 people came out to enjoy hot dogs, beverages, chips and two cakes — one featuring a photo of the store shortly after opening, and the other showing it today. Inside, historic photos of the co-op’s construction were also on display.
“People came and reminisced, and many who started the store have sadly passed on,” said McDonald. “But those people have given the community a gift.”
