TSIIGEHTCHIC/ARCTIC RED RIVER - As spring thaw hits the Mackenzie Delta and ice roads close, Tsiigehtchic residents prepare for complete isolation. That month of ice break up between the road closing and the ferry opening is Curtis Groom's favourite time of year.

Curtis Groom, seen here with his seven-year-old son Christopher, has been manager of Tsiigehtchic's Northern Store for the past two-and-a-half years. - photo courtesy of Curtis Groom

"It's all about the town then," Groom said. "It's a private time for the community without everybody running off on the weekends."

And it means more people will visit the local grocery store, where Groom is the manager.

He and his wife Melissa and their seven-year-old son moved to Tsiigehtchic two-and-a-half years ago after stints with the Northern Store in Baker Lake, Repulse Bay and northern Quebec. Now in a town about 120 people call home, the Grooms have no plans to leave.

"I see 80 per cent of the town every day," he said. "You know everybody's name."

His third break-up season at the store is fast upon him, with the Arctic Red River ice crossing expected to close before the end of this week, and Groom has learned a lot since his first season at the store about ordering supplies in advance.

"That was a stressful time," he said. "I had to make sure nobody would starve."

Groom said he went around town seeking elders' advice on what and how much he should order to last until the ferry opened, when the community had no way in or out.

"I didn't have enough pop - I heard about that," he laughed. "And the next year I had way too much, but we're reaching a comfortable balance now."

The most popular purchases are pop and ultra-high-temperature milk, he said. Although pop is a high priority purchase among residents, it's also the last thing he orders to make sure he gets dry goods and canned foods on time. Shipments are often two or three weeks late, but last Wednesday the store got its final delivery before break up and has added a new product, a fresh fruit cup that's supposed to keep for weeks in the fridge, which Groom hopes might "make a difference when people are jonesing for their fruit."

There always are a couple of little hitches for the store during that period of isolation, he said, and he foresees a possible shortage of cooking oil this year, but there's still a small window of time to grab a couple more cases before the road is officially closed.

Apart from that, the two-aisle store and freezers are reasonably well-stocked, especially considering the building has no storage space, he said.

"We pile the freezers nine-feet high with food and cross our fingers and make it through."

And Groom said he loves every part of it. He said he works 65 to 70 hours a week at the store and also serves as Tsiigehtchic's fire chief.

"In a town this size, everybody's got to pull their weight," he said.