Angelo Sarsam is “over-the-moon excited” to be back in Cookstown.
The owner and pharmacist at the village’s Pharmasave reopened his doors a couple of weeks ago, roughly 6.5 months after they were closed due to a fire at the Foodland in a neighbouring unit within the Queen Street strip plaza.
Staff are still working to fill all the shelves. But they’re also doing what they can to fill the gap left by the still-closed supermarket, quadrupling the size of the snack section, expanding beverage offerings and selling gift items, in addition to comprehensive over-the-counter- and prescription-drug options.
“We’re obviously still adding things on a daily basis,” he said. “We’re not fully there yet. But for the most part, we have all the services available now. Everything got gutted out. The whole store was just empty space. The shelves, the walls — everything got redone. People asked for milk and cheese, but we don’t have the required refrigerators. But if something’s shelf-stable, we’re more than happy to carry it. We’re here to help.
“I’m excited for ourselves and also for the patients we serve.”
Anthony Martino, a landlord for the six-unit site, says there’s still no firm reopening date set for Foodland, though the target is sometime this spring.
However, the LCBO retailer, and Cookstown Pub, Subway, and Pizza Hut restaurants, have all reopened.
Innisfil Fire and Rescue Services personnel, South Simcoe police and County of Simcoe paramedics were called to a blaze at Foodland, located in the mall, shortly before 6 a.m. on July 5.
Fire Chief Brent Thomas said at the time there was “smoke mitigation” in all units in the plaza. As a result, the entire mall was closed until a structural engineer, employment standards personnel, InnPower and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit gave permission for occupancy.
No one was inside the grocery store at the time of the incident.
Since the fire, questions have been raised about why the Town of Innisfil didn’t step in during the months that followed to better assist residents who lack easy access to groceries and fresh produce.
However, there are options, including the town’s subsidized Innisfil Transit program, which is available to anyone who needs transportation to other grocery stores within the municipality, Mayor Lynn Dollin said.
“The fire at the Cookstown Foodland was indeed devastating as it resulted in significant impact on this family-run business, surrounding businesses, as well as residents of Cookstown who shop there,” she said. “We appreciate the difficulties caused by the store’s temporary closure and have been working with the owner to provide the necessary support. As a Cookstown resident, I’m eager for Foodland to reopen and am happy to see that other businesses in the plaza already have. I’m looking forward to supporting our local merchants once again.”
Recently, Martino said the long closures were due mostly to extensive smoke damage.
“The problem is you never know the full extent,” he said, noting a steel beam inside Foodland was also compromised. “They had to do smoke mapping, air-quality tests, to determine the full extent. That took some time. With Foodland, there was some structural damage, but that’s been addressed. We do have a solution for that. Everything inside that unit is being redone.”
Sarsam noted his pharmacy did what it could to ensure customers maintained access to their medications. He also operates the Alliston Pharmasave and offered free delivery to Cookstown-area residents.
“It’s been hard for people not having us in town,” he said. “People have expressed their gratitude to us. This team deserves a medal; it was handled the best we could. There was zero interruption to patient care. It’s the convenience (for) seniors and the people who can’t drive. It was very difficult for them. The pharmacy is a different nature of business. You have an ethical obligation to make sure people have access to their prescriptions.”
Sarsam wasn’t at the plaza when the fire broke out, but he did arrive about an hour into the incident.
“There were so many flammable items (in Foodland),” he said. “(The smoke) just travelled fast, I guess. I never thought this would ever happen to me. But it happens. It could have been worse. I’m just glad nobody actually got hurt. We made the best out of an unfortunate event.”
For more on the pharmacy, visit cookstownpharmasave.com, email [email protected], call 705-458-1292, or check out the store’s Facebook page.