No Frills opens on Pleasant

In neighbourhood described as ‘food desert,’ new option puts groceries close at hand

After 16 years without a neighbourhood supermarket, Pleasant-Woodside residents can now shop for groceries within walking distance. No Frills, the franchise-based discount chain affiliated with Loblaw Companies, opened a second Dartmouth location on Feb. 6 at 375 Pleasant Street, next to Value Village and diagonal to the Woodside Ferry Terminal.

No Frills is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The store is in the process of implementing a student discount; after that, owner and franchisee Roy Gouthro told The Post, No Frills will be looking at ways to help seniors.

Construction on the store began four months before opening — but rumours of the new location first emerged through Halifax ReTales in October 2022. Reactions to the store’s long-anticipated arrival have been quite enthusiastic.

“People are really excited to have the No Frills here,” said Candice Saccary, pharmacist at the nearby Guardian Pharmacy. “There’s been no grocery store in this area for a long time.”

Indeed, the neighbourhood has lacked a supermarket since Sobeys shut down its Pleasant Street location (in the complex now home to the Pleasant Street Diner) in 2009. With that closure, Pleasant-Woodside earned a reputation as a “food desert,” as reported by CBC News in 2019 and discussed in the 2021 documentary Deserted.

With No Frills offering a food oasis, residents may notice increased activity in the store’s parking lot and on nearby roads. While the lot in front of and beside No Frills has approximately 50 spaces more than the lot outside Sobeys Penhorn, this carpark serves customers for Value Village, McDonald’s, and the Guardian Pharmacy. Even at mid-afternoon on weekdays, spots are limited. During peak times it can get very busy indeed, often with lines of cars waiting to exit the lot.

No Frills’ arrival marks a busier time for the area, with new stores and apartment buildings potentially shifting traffic patterns. Drivers and pedestrians will need to stay vigilant as they travel down and across Pleasant Street, which has a history of vehicle/pedestrian conflicts. Noteworthy is the the 2021 death of Suete Chan, 27, who was struck and killed by a car at a Pleasant Street crosswalk near the Nova Scotia Hospital.

Councillor Becky Kent offers residents assistance with traffic issues in the area, telling The Post that she is willing to act as a “conduit to HRM staff regarding parking and area concerns as they become apparent.”