Shoppers irked by empty shelves at Whitehorse Superstore

It can be a challenge to get everything on your grocery list in one trip when shopping in Whitehorse, but with one major grocery store closed for renovations, some shoppers are getting angry about empty shelves at Superstore.

Extra Foods closed earlier this summer and is expected to reopen in December as a Your Independent Grocer,a Loblaw franchise store. That means more shoppers have turned to the city's largest grocery store, Real Canadian Superstore, which is also owned by Loblaw Company Ltd.

But inventory at the store can be spotty, and people are venting their frustrations ona Facebook group called Superstore Whitehorse sucks.Pictures posted show emptyshelves, rotten vegetables and limited selection.

Bobbi-Jane White recently joined the group and says she is often frustrated when shopping at the store.

"It almost makes me less angry to see other people's experiences," she said.

"Mostly the issue is they tend not to have enough stock on the shelves, like at varying times."

She says it's important people not be upset with general staff at the store.

"The stock boy is probably not likely to help you with your concern. I would check with the department manager and if you're not getting any resolution there, move up the chain appropriately."

White says the temporaryclosure of Extra Foods seems to have had an impact on the Superstore.

"I don't think they were prepared for the high volume," she said. "It just seems to be a disconnect of understanding the volume of what they are going to go through and what they actually have in stock. Maybe just some better ordering practices are in order."

But not everyone who shops at the store can pop back another day to get what they missed on their grocery list.

Beaver Creekresident Johanna Duyan usually drives five hours to Whitehorse to shop once a month because there isn't a grocery store in her rural Yukon village.

"So it's not as though we can go back, you know, in a few days to get those cucumbers that weren't there," she said.

She says sometimes there's no chicken, no milk or very limited produce when she goes to the Superstore and says she can't afford to do all her shopping at the smaller grocery stores in Whitehorse.

"For the Christmas holidays that are coming up around the corner, we're not going to take our chances. We are just going to go to Fairbanks and stock up."

It's anotherfive-hour drive to the Alaskan city from Beaver Creek, and a border crossing, but she says it's worth it if she's guaranteed to get what she's looking for.

CBC News called Loblaw'shead office for comment but did not receive a reply.

Meanwhile, the company's job site shows it is currently looking to hire a new administrator for the Whitehorse store.