It seems like it has been a long time coming but the first store to open in the Centre Ice Plaza has now done so. Nico’s Market opened its doors to the public on Friday afternoon and the word quickly got out, as it was busy by the time I got around to going at noon on Saturday. I did not know what to expect from this store and for the longest time had no idea what it even going to be like. All I knew is that is was open and run by Chef Pierre, a local chef and owner of a couple restaurants and Le Stockpot a Deli/Bakery.

Walking in was literally like walking into a market down south, this may just be because this was the first time I walked into this store but it did remind me of similar stores I have been to in Ontario. I will first give you my impression of the store and then some of the details I know about the store.

When you walk in, you think “wow this is nice”. It isn’t like any other store we have here in Yellowknife. Everything is so close together and there were staff everywhere trying their best to help everyone. The selection of vegetables was decent and they all looked fresh, keep in mind I don’t often go to Co-op and can’t compare. The one thing I noticed right away was the rows and rows of spices and sauces along with many other jarred goods. The choice was there, which is something I think a lot of Yellowknifers will appreciate. At the back of the store is a cooler section which was empty at the moment, but I am guessing will be stocked with juices, milk and dairy products. Along one side is where you’ll find your meats and cheeses to choose from. Then there is the little café called Nico’s Cafe, which serves a variety of food and drinks including Specialty Drinks, Coffee, Panini’s and Sandwiches. On the other side you’ll find kitchen supplies, tons of them. I even saw cast iron pan, which I have been looking for. The selection of supplies was phenomenal and if you can’t find what you are looking for in there, then it probably doesn’t exist. In all I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the store. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out, such as the checking out processes. Many items in the store were not yet in the computer and slowed down the check out process drastically. I am also hoping that they price everything in the coming days, I find that is the one think that will put me off from buying at a store is not knowing the price. I think many would agree, especially since a Facebook Group devoted to the Cost of Living in Yellowknife has just been created.

On to what I know or rather what I was told. If you have at all been to Le Stockpot lately you will have noticed many items there are now gone. That is because the majority of kitchen supplies along with some jarred goods, which I mention earlier, are now available at Nico’s Market. They have now made or are making Le Stockpot more of a Sandwich Shop/Cafe with the addition of tables and chairs. This is all coming from Chef Pierre himself who I was able to talk to while in Nico’s Market. One of things I asked him was store hours as I could not find them posted anywhere. He told me, although he said he could be wrong, as of now they are Monday – Friday 7am-6pm and Saturday 9am-6pm. These seem a little early but he did say they are subject to change.

You have heard my thoughts on the store and now I want to hear yours. Do you think it will succeed? Will you shop there? Let us know.

First if you haven’t had time to make it over there here is a short video and photos.

Yesterday I took a stroll down to the Salvation Army where I found 250 students all lined up. They were lined up from the front door of the Army all the way up the hill into the gym of St. Pats High School. They made a human chain in order to deliver the 25 hamper the school had gathered and put together. The hampers I then distibuted to local families in need over the holidays.

I have put together this video which show a little more of what was going on, as well as some photos.

You can see all the photos on Flickr.

To continue the discussion of food prices in the north, Hughie took some photos of food items for me during a recent trip to Inuvik. Inuvik is located 3000km northwest by car from Yellowknife. It is in a similar situation as Yellowknife, it does have a road leading to the town but as it is much further north it is undoubtedly more expensive. Inuvik also gets a lot more materials barged and flown in. As you can see some items are double what they are in Yellowknife. I’m not sure if there are any current Inuvik residents reading YkOnline, but it would be great to get past and present alike to chime in with their experiences with food prices in Inuvik or any other northern community for that matter.

If you’ve got something to say about Northern Food Prices please do so in the comment section. If you want to share your thoughts on Yellowknife Food Prices head on over to the Yellowknife Food Prices post. Thanks again to Hughie for the photos.

On a Sunday, different people do different things. Some go to church, others sleep in, I on the other hand eat. I had the opportunity to try out Coyotes Sunday Brunch. Coyotes Bar & Grill might be Yellowknife’s only self titled Steak and Seafood joint, but that doesn’t stop them from offering one of the best breakfast/lunch/totally awesome buffets around. Then again I am probably being bias because I have not yet tried another one, but nonetheless it was good.

From the look of the outside of the building some may be surprised when walking through the doors. Many may not know but this restaurant, and bar, moved into this building after a Dairy Queen closed down years ago. Once we entered we were greeted right away, seated and asked out drink selection. The seating area is dived into 3 spaces, which is nice and gives you a little more sense of privacy.

The buffet area was packed, not with people, but with food. They had everything, and that is only half an exaggeration. Offering something that will satisfy everyone is pretty hard, but I think Coyotes does it well. They had your basic breakfast items, pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs and my personal favorite Eggs Benedict.

I haven’t encountered many places that offer Shrimp for lunch let alone breakfast, but people were eating it. To go along with the shrimp there was a wide selection of pastas and salads with all the toppings.

In this corner of the buffet area there was two things going on. To the right they had 4 main dishes, perogies and sausage, chicken, lasagna and crab legs. Yes indeed I did say crab legs, although I did not try any. To the right is where the owner, Ed But, would make you up eggs, however you would like with what ever fixings you would like. When an owner of a business is right there working with the customers it means a lot to me. It shows they are willing to do the work and make sure you are enjoying yourself. I must also recognize the waitresses who were constantly going around to make sure everyone had everything they needed.

Of course I had to go up 2 or 3.. okay maybe 4 times, but it is not often I am able to get out to a buffet this good.

One thing that shocked me about the buffet was the selection of desserts, I could not believe they had an entire table full. I had to contain myself and only take a slice of Triple Chocolate Cake.

In all I was very pleased with the buffet and restaurant over all. The only thing going in that worried me was the price to food quality ratio. Once I saw the amount, selection and quality of food that worry went away. The price per person for the buffet was $23 and although this is a little much for me, I can understand why. I will definitely be returning, just maybe not as frequently as I want.

Have you ever tried the Sunday Brunch Buffet? Let everyone know how your experience went below in the comments.

Hey Yellowknifers, I shot this video while going grocery store to grocery store. I was not comparing the prices, I was only collecting prices to give those people from the south who are thinking of moving up an idea as to our food prices. The post should be up with in a couple days.