Vikas Gupta takes over the Blyth Food Market
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Blyth was once known as a village with many grocery stores, but these days, there’s just one place left in Blyth where people can go to pick up their supplies for the week - the Blyth Food Market. In exciting ‘food news,’ this local institution has just obtained new owners that have some big plans for a bright future in Blyth.
Although Vikas Gupta already has many years of experience with store management in India and Mississauga, this is his first foray into the wild world of small town grocery stores. “I have experience,” he said, “but I’m also thinking that every day is about learning. So I’m learning, and I’m just listening to the town... it’s simple. It’s not like, hypothetical mathematics or something. This is not my store - this is the town’s store.”
Gupta currently lives in Brampton, but it hasn’t taken him long to fall in love with the village of Blyth and its little grocery store. “I always wanted to live in a small town - it’s the dream,” he explained. In the month of August alone, he’s travelled from Brampton to Blyth for 22 consecutive days to ensure things run smoothly. “That’s 400 kilometres a day,” he pointed out. He doesn’t always wake up in the mood to make the long round trip, but he always ends up finding the energy. “When I think about the town, I get the motivation,” he admitted. He’s also been thinking about how an apartment in Blyth could dramatically cut down on his daily commute.
He pointed out that Canadian cities in general are perceived as less safe now, which is a far cry from what he’s found in Blyth, so far. “Every person of the town we’re meeting is so loving, and so helpful. I was shocked - in the city, it’s a totally different life.” He’s also noticed that, when he and the rest of his staff are very busy, customers don’t mind waiting patiently for a few minutes. “There’s no hurry, there’s no rush - we’re getting a very good response,” he said. Gupta is currently running the Blyth Food Market with his younger brother Deepanshu.
Gupta thinks that customer service is the most important thing about running any kind of store, but especially in a small town. “My father taught me one thing, before I came to Canada: when you start a business, you don’t know which mood the customer will be in when he comes in, but when he goes out, he has a smile on his face.”
Besides great customer service, Gupta wants to make sure that the Blyth Food Market becomes known as an affordable place to shop. He acknowledges that right now, people might travel to other towns, like Wingham and Goderich, in search of cheaper groceries than they’ve been offering in Blyth in recent years. But he wants to change all that. Gupta is hoping to lower prices by sourcing more affordable commodities and sundry items so that the Blyth Food Market can better serve the local community. “Give me 90 days, and in 90 days, I’ll change the total look of this store and reduce the prices,” he promised. “And then all the townspeople and people from other towns will come here to do their shopping.”