Yellowknife (Oct 22/03) - The Yellowknife Co-op grocery store should have its renovations completed by December 15, but the gas bar is already up and running, says general manager Ben Walker.

One of the benefits of the gas bar is a 10 per cent rebate on the bill for members.

The gas bar has doubled the number of hoses from 12 to 24 and offers donuts, submarine sandwiches, microwavable items, an assortment of coffees as well as hot dogs.

"There are slushies for the kids and iced and hot cappuccino for the adults," Walker says.

The renovation project is costing Yellowknife Co-op $8 million, but the benefits to customers will be many fold, Walker says.

Some of those benefits will include a children's play area with free juice and cookies as well television and VCR.

A membership booth will have free coffee available.

Inside the store, everything is changing, Walker says.

The aisles will increase in size from 45-foot aisles to 60-foot aisles.

"The post office area will soon become a network of offices. The meat department will become a deli, with the deli doubling in size," Walker says.

The dairy section will become the meat section and the frozen foods section will double in size, with the south wall becoming the dairy section.

The bakery will increase in size four-fold with more refrigerated cakes and special order wedding cakes on offer.

Near the middle of the store a health and beauty section will break up the aisles. In front of the health and beauty section will be a demonstration area.

"We'll have food booths with our own demonstrations and we're going to try to get some of the local chefs out," says Walker, adding that a computer terminal near the demonstration centre will assist home chefs with planning their menus.

Currently, there are 3,700 members in the co-op with $1.6 million paid out in rebates last year and an additional $1.2 million paid out the year before.

Memberships are being sold for $60 a piece.