Moores' Shop Easy Foods

About

We have a bakery produce and meat departments. We are known in the area for our excellent meat particularly our tender steaks and delicious cooked roasts.

Story

Moore’s Store (Forestburg) Ltd. History
The Moore brothers Bud and Don in 1947 opened a small grocery and merchandise store called Unity Purity with the help of their father Sid Moore. Their inventory included clothes, shoes, work and dress styles, made to measure suits, sewing notions, socks, underwear and later toys. The Eastern Star was looking for a place for a library and the brothers offered the basement of the store. The basement was a dirt floor with gyprock walls which were common in these days. A lot of volunteer hours when in to get the Library open. They put in the Library on April 30, 1955, used for several years, until it was moved to the new Fire Hall, April 4, 1959.

The business grew in the 50’s and in 1963 and they doubled the size of the store by moving their mother, Janet Moores’ next door house two blocks down to 5005-46 Ave which is still standing. When they opened up there were three other grocery stores in town, Vos, Anderson’s and ?. The family was recruited to help out after school Brian used to deliver groceries with a little red wagon earning 25 cents / hr. Cousin Jim and Brian helped in the store stocking shelves and serving customers.

In 1967 Bud and family, Helen, Jim, June, Margaret, Lorne, Dale and Janet moved to Rimbey to open a second Moore’s Tomboy store. In the 1970’s competition came in the form of a brand new Coop Store. Gradually the other grocery stores closed and dad phased out several merchandise to become all groceries.

In 1979, Don and his son Brian purchased the Coop store building which had been empty for a while. They moved the main grocery store from the old site on main street to the coop store building and changed the name to Moore’s ShopEasy Foods. The original store became known as the Forestburg Food Mart, a convenience store open 7 days/wk 9am-9pm. This store has also been referred to as the “green store” on main street because Brian had it painted bright green.

The family has all worked in the store which includes brother Brent and sister Deanna. Brian’s children, Roger, Scott and Vanessa have also worked in the store during their JR High, High School and College years. They also enjoyed delivering groceries with the red truck which was a step up from the red wagon. Roger would deliver the groceries and ask if he could help with anything and they would suggest he could put them away. So he would put them away in cupboard and fridge.

Presently, some of our staff’s children work in the store. I really is a family business. We are fortunate to have long time staff which includes Bernice Desroches, Aaron Bish, Barb Woody, Melanie Parchewsky and Pam Couturier. The Food Mart staff is Ellen Riding, Jane Muyres, Lynn Valorney and Shelly Hollywood.

Through the years Brian had upgraded the stores adding new upright dairy coolers freezers, new bakers dep’t and oven, new computer cash registers and back office, new paint both store inside and out.

Don won several Kraft Cheese Awards from the National Dairy Council in the 1960’s & 1970’s. During the ceremony he appeared on TV in Toronto. Brian won the Master Merchandiser Award from the Canadian Federation Of Independent Grocers in 1987. He received the award at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary. The County recognized Moore’s Shopeasy Foods as small business of the year in 2006. In Dec 2016, Moore’s Shopeasy was recognized by the Village of Forestburg for reaching the milestone of 70 years in business.

In 1985 Brian and Sandra purchased the store from Don. We have been very fortunate to have capable staff and loyal customers. This year makes our 70th yr in business in Forestburg, the second longest remaining business after Coutt’s Hardware.

We are pleased to add our history of our family business to the new Forestburg History Book.

Brian & Sandra Moore
Roger, Scott and Vanessa
2017