The Extra Foods on Broadway will shut its doors for the final time on April 23rd.

This comes as other grocers in Saskatoon’s core have closed up shop in recent years including the Shop Easy Foods in City Park back in 2016.

DeeAnn Mercier, the Director of the Broadway Improvement District says there are many little boutique shops in the area that offer food and the closure may be an opportunity for them to grow their line-up.

Mercier adds the closure didn’t come as a complete surprise given the Extra Foods name has been slowly phasing out over the last few years. “It has a small footprint and it’s sort of in the centre of the city and those (grocery stores) seem to be closing.”

Mercier says it’s been a nice convenience having the Extra Foods store on the block for local residents.

“We’ve really appreciated that grocer being on the block. People coming to visit it, whether it be for their whole shopping or just to pick up milk or whatever.”

The closure will mean residents in the area will have to shop for their grocers either on 8th Street or beyond.

Saskatoon’s downtown has been without a grocery store since the Extra Food on 3rd Avenue closed in 2004.

About four years ago, Arbutus Properties pitched an idea to redevelop the city yards downtown for a new development that would include a grocery store, although that idea never came to fruition. Loblaws, the parent company of Extra Foods released a statement last week saying the Broadway store hasn’t been profitable and they don’t see that turning around.

The City Centre Food Co-op, a non-profit that focuses their attention on food access says the closure of Extra Foods will widen a food desert in the city’s core.