LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Major portions of a Fort Simpson business have been shut down and are being removed just a year and a half after opening.

Fort Simpson-based business Fort of the Forks is no longer offering accommodations or a restaurant. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Fort of the Forks, a $4-million project located where Highway 1 branches off from Fort Simpson on its way to Wrigley, opened in two stages.

A gas bar and convenience store opened its doors in November 2008 followed by a 48-person industrial camp, a restaurant, kitchen and a conference room in May 2009.

The expected developments in the area that the business plan for Fort of the Forks was based on, however, never materialized, said Jon Kristjanson, a spokesperson for Sodexo.

Fort of the Forks is a partnership between Liidlii Kue First Nation, Landmark Logistics Ltd. and Sodexo, a company that provides integrated food and facilities management services in a variety of countries worldwide.

It was hoped the development of the Mackenzie Gas Project as well as other projects in the area would warrant the services Fort of the Forks was offering, Kristjanson said.

"It was a venture with a certain element of speculation," he said.

Since opening, the business has failed to produce any profit. The partners made a joint decision to close everything except the gas bar and convenience store, Kristjanson said.

The restaurant closed in May 2010, a year after opening, followed by the accommodations at the end of December. The 26 trailers that make up the facility are expected to be removed in February or possibly March.

Sodexo is currently in discussions with a number of organizations about how to tear down and transport the facility.

"We'd like to be there for the long haul but sadly the business is not there to warrant that," Kristjanson said.

Prospects didn't look bright for the coming months or even the next few years, he said.

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