The Pulse
Feb. 4, 2025

Specialty food retailers are expanding in the Edmonton region with boutique-type experiences that, in at least two cases, are backed by established companies with cash and big ambition.

L'OCA Quality Market opened its second location in less than a year on Jan. 31 after its flagship shop on Baseline Road in Sherwood Park went live last May. The new outpost is within the former home of Andy's Valleyview IGA in the Parkview neighbourhood.

"(Between) opening the two stores in 266 days and and trying to organize the supply chain and rally a couple hundred staff and start up restaurants and grocery stores, L'OCA consumes a fair bit of my time," Ben Cochrane, a partner in L'OCA, told Taproot. "I don't sleep a lot."

Cochrane is also a senior vice-president at Go Auto, a car dealership business founded and headquartered in Edmonton that now has more than 60 locations in Canada and the United States. Some of his colleagues at Go Auto are personal investors in L'OCA, including the Priestner family, whose Mike Priestner founded the Mike Priestner Auto Group in 1996, which became Go Auto in 2008. The family has generational business expertise in the auto industry and supports local charities, including $1 million for Boyle Street Community Services in 2022.

From day one, the investors in L'OCA have aimed to scale. "We didn't want to dip our toes into the market, build that very large store out in Sherwood Park and then stop there," Cochrane said. "We wanted to do food differently, and with that, do it everywhere."

L'OCA, which is Italian for "the goose," is built on the "old world tradition" of European markets, Cochrane said. The concept was also influenced by farmers' markets and the viral Erewhon, an uber-pricey grocer from Los Angeles — all done with "an Albertan touch." Both locations have restaurant concepts, though the new one is based more around a service counter than the location in Sherwood Park. Another difference between the two is that Parkview, which also serves the neighbourhood of Crestwood, has filled the void left by the IGA, which was beloved by Edmonton's Jewish community for its robust selection of kosher foods and sponsorship of events. L'OCA has retained most of Andy's staff and all of its kosher inventory, and even added to it.

"We've actually expanded on what they they were offering," Cochrane said. "We have the full selection of everything they had before and now (even) more shelf space. We've worked very closely with the community there. We've been listening to what they want to see and brought a lot of stuff in."

Similar to the 22,000-square-foot Parkview store, the 48,000-square-foot L'OCA in Sherwood Park replaced a former store (in that case a Rona). Cochrane said Sherwood Park offered some "breathing room" as a first outpost compared to Edmonton's more saturated grocery market — even if he announced the Parkview plans the same month that L'OCA 1.0 opened.

L'OCA isn't alone as a specialty food retailer that's charting ambitious growth in the Edmonton region. In 2023, the first Ribeye Butcher Shop, which is one of several new-ish butcher shops in Edmonton, opened in St. Albert, and by last year the company launched its seventh location in Calgary. In between these bookends, Ribeye has opened four shops offering specialty meat and prepared foods in the Edmonton region, with locations in Manning, Windermere, Terra Losa, and Sherwood Park. It has a further store in Airdrie.

Like L'OCA, none of Ribeye's shops are currently located in Edmonton's core, but that may change, co-owner Sam Gundy told Taproot.

"We have chosen the sites we have because we have great relationships with the landlord already through associated businesses," Gundy said. "That being said, we are looking at the core in Edmonton and Calgary … I think that there is a tremendous opportunity in downtown Edmonton or downtown Calgary. It doesn't have to be 18(,000) or 20,000 square feet, which is what the Mahogany (in Calgary) store is. We can do a little micro store for 900 square feet, and still pack it with all the great products that we serve at all the other stores."

• Drivers are expressing frustration with the HotSpot parking app nine months after the City of Edmonton switched to the new platform. Puneeta McBryan, CEO of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, said she has heard complaints since the app was introduced last May. Among the concerns raised were issues with the app not saving payment information, difficulty determining the user's location, and the enforcement of a two-hour parking limit in EPark zones.
• Several school divisions in the Edmonton area cancelled bus service for Feb. 4 because of the extreme cold weather. Parents are advised to check with their individual school divisions for updates.
• A section of 118 Street in central Edmonton will be closed for three months as EPCOR completes drainage work beginning in mid-February. The closure will stretch between Jasper Avenue and 104 Avenue and is expected to last until mid-May.
• Edmonton is seeing an increase in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, with several clinics now offering treatments using substances such as ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA. The emerging field is attracting both patients seeking alternative mental health treatments and clinicians interested in providing them. "As we know more about these drugs in two to three years, they will be staples of mental health treatment in the future," predicted University of Alberta professor and retired psychologist Peter Silverstone.
• Changes to eye care coverage in Alberta took effect on Feb. 1, despite pushback from the Alberta Association of Optometrists. The province is no longer funding partial vision exams for children and seniors, among other changes. The association said it is concerned about the effect the changes will have on Albertans with eye disease, vulnerable populations, and those living in rural areas.
• U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to pause tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to enhance border security with a $1.3-billion plan that includes increasing personnel, deploying new technology, and cracking down on illegal drugs and migration. He also pledged to create a fentanyl "czar" and list Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith praised the decision in an online post, emphasizing the role of diplomacy in resolving trade disputes.
• Former Alberta justice minister Kaycee Madu has been formally reprimanded by the Law Society of Alberta and ordered to pay nearly $39,000 in costs after a 2021 incident in which he phoned Edmonton's police chief after receiving a traffic ticket. Madu, who maintains his innocence, was found guilty of conduct worthy of sanction last year.
• The Edmonton Elks have signed star linebacker Nyles Morgan to a two-year contract extension, keeping him with the team through the 2026 CFL season. Morgan tied for the CFL lead in defensive tackles last season.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Solar 101 starting at 12pm online
• Safety: The Foundation of Sustainable Transportation Systems starting at 12pm online
• Creating a User-Friendly Website Experience starting at 1pm online
• Flying to the Sun - Art Exhibit Reception starting at 3pm at University of Alberta (Fine Arts Building Gallery)
• Shazia Ahmad – Artist Talk starting at 6pm at SNAP Gallery
• Truth Seekers & Storytellers: How news works around the world starting at 7pm at CKUA
• After the Trojan Women starting at 7:30pm at Fringe Theatre Arts Barns

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Feb. 7: Pandas Open Track and Field at University of Alberta Butterdome
• Feb. 10-14: Non-Profit Week 2025 at Edmonton Chamber of Volunteer Organizations
• Feb. 14: Mind Your Business: Navigating Tariffs at Royal Glenora Club

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.