Garibaldi Shopping Village Centre's newly constructed parking lot off Highway 99 was full by the time the 71st London Drugs opened its doors for the first time Tuesday morning (Nov. 17).
Pushing carts full steam ahead, residents who had waited as long as an hour to be the first to browse the store's aisles poured in after a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by London Drugs president Wynne Powell.
"It's wonderful when you see the customers line up the hours before, that's what makes this so exciting for this family company of London Drugs: the support we get from communities like Squamish," he said.
Local resident Ravinder Sangha received a $100 gift certificate and was asked to cut the ribbon as part of a London Drugs tradition honouring the store's first customer.
"You'll still maintain, you're first in line. You've waited there for over an hour, Ravinder, we wouldn't take that away from you," Wynne announced.
The 30,000-sq-ft store, which was developed by B.C. and Washington-based Wesbild Holdings Limited., was originally expected to open in the summer. However, it came close to missing the holiday season due construction delays, Wynne explained later as customers shopped.
He said he is relieved the store is open to cater to residents during the year's busiest commercial season.
The opening of London Drugs comes with employment for nearly 100 people. The store provides health care services and also features photo finishing, a pharmacy with individual consulting booths, in-house computer repairs and a kitchen department.
Although downtown business owners have expressed concern over the mall expansion detracting shoppers away from the downtown, Mayor Greg Gardner said London Drugs helps highlight Squamish as a business destination.
"It really cements Squamish's position as the business centre of the Sea to Sky Corridor and also brings some valuable jobs to our community," he said. "So I'm very pleased that London Drugs chose Squamish as its site for its latest store."
The store will be Squamish's fourth-largest retailer after Wal-Mart (86,000 sq-ft), Home Depot (60,000 sq-ft) and Canadian Tire (41,000 sq-ft).
