A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in Wollaston Lake on Saturday for the new Hatchet Lake Band Store.
Besides groceries, the “Wolly Mart” also has a gas bar, and future plans include a lumber yard.
The grocery store includes a walk-in cooler and freezers, and is the largest of its kind in the north.
The outlet is operated by the Hatchet Lake Economic Development Corporation.
Board Chair Ed Benoanie says band members are the shareholders.
Benoanie says, in the future, it’s hoped the store can sell items like snowmobiles and outboard motors.
Store manager Rick Hunt says operating such a large store in the province’s far north brings many challenges, especially since there are three months between the annual end of barge service and the opening of the winter road.
It took eleven months to build the 12,000-square-foot store at a cost of about $3 million.