A beloved, locally owned business, smack dab in the middle of the Westphal area of Dartmouth, wants its customers to know they will continue to focus on lower costs, even with the threat of tariffs and a major expansion just a few months away.
Social Media Manager, Tamara MacKay tells our newsroom, the renovations underway at Gateway Meat Market should be finished by the end of May.
“It’s our fifth expansion, but it’s definitely our biggest and most aggressive.”
There will 11 cash registers, up from 8.
Photo: Gateway Meat Market/Facebook
Harbour East-Marine Drive Community Council unanimously voted in favour of the expansion last May, that would bring a larger building double the size of the existing one, dozens more staff and a covered pedestrian walkway.
It would also include more on-site storage, a larger processing area, another meat prepping room and more parking.
Photo: Gateway Meat Market/Facebook
MacKay says it needed to happen considering the demand.
“It was really an expansion that was forced on us just due to people lining up outside down the street. We’ve had people line up about 50 people deep on some days. So, we need knew the need was there and something we couldn’t ignore.”
Photo: Gateway Meat Market/Facebook
She says some customers are scared the renovations will spike their prices, but she says, that won’t happen.
“When most people go bigger, they worry about higher prices and things like that, but the whole point of our expansion is to offer affordable groceries to a wider range of people. To be able to get more people in and out of the doors and be able to feed their families.”
What about tariffs?
Tariffs have been now put on hold for a month after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump, struck a deal.
Trump had signed an executive order over the weekend to put in 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 per cent tariffs on energy Tuesday, but that was avoided for 30 days, Monday evening.
However, even with the threat of tariffs still hanging over our shoulders, MacKay says, Gateway should be affected a little less than most if they do go into effect, because they source a lot of their products here at home.
“We have always been sourcing as locally as we can, both to keep prices down to support our local farmers and we have great products here in Nova Scotia. So, we’re happy to feature those.”
She adds, they do bring in products from Ontario and Quebec but not as many from the U.S., and they always choose local first.
“If there ends up being shortages on certain items and our customers are still demanding them, then we’ll have to assess that as we go. But for now, we do think that we’ll be one of the companies that’s affected the least amount.”
Still going to ‘be here’
Gateway is a grocery staple in the community.
MacKay says it’s sad how much they are needed but also satisfying and rewarding with customers who come from all over the Maritimes.
“People are driving to us from Cape Breton, Yarmouth, New Brunswick, P.E.I… we’ve even had people come over from Newfoundland with coolers just to stock up.”
She adds, they will continue to work hard to keep costs low with passing savings on to the customer, rather than a higher profit margin.
“It’s what we enjoy. It’s what we’re proud of. We just want to let our customers know that we’re not going to change. They don’t have to be worried that they’re not going to be able to feed their families and we’ll always be here.”
