Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (July 08/02) - More than 800 people turned out in Rankin Inlet this past week to help celebrate the grand opening of the new Tittaq Mall.

The parent company, the Evaz Group, went all out to make the official opening of its new retail mall a truly grand affair.

Hot dogs simmered on the barbecue and refreshments flowed freely from coolers, as drum dancers performed in the back foyer of the new mall.

The first 50 children to enter the mall during the grand opening were given free prizes and a number of quality gift draws were also held, including a pair of free airline tickets courtesy of Canadian North.

Construction crews braved the fierce Kivalliq winter to raise the building last winter.

Tittaq assistant office manager Pat Reimer says the grand opening turned out better than staff had hoped for.

She says having the company's retail outlets under one roof will greatly improve the level of service local consumers can expect.

"The biggest improvement is the communication between all our staff members, having them all now working together in the mall," says Reimer.

"When it comes right down to it, even though the old location has been open for about two years, I don't think a lot of people in town were even aware we sold furniture."

Reimer says the mall's new clearance centre specializes in offering a wide variety of products for a very reasonable price.

She says the company doesn't even know what it's going to receive from its distributor to offer in the centre.

"That's kind of neat because the items we receive are always a surprise to us.

"So, basically the clearance centre will offer everything from soups to nuts.

"We have toys, socks, spices, tools, you name it. It's really comparable to the old Biway chain, if people here are familiar with that former Southern chain.

"All in all, our customers are really going to be happy with the arrangement in the mall because they will be able to take care of so many of their shopping needs under one roof."