Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) is hoping to open its new gas station and convenience store, located next to the Mystery Lake Hotel, by the end of the year.
NCN’s director for economic development David Kobliski told the Nickel Belt News Dec. 17 that this timetable is definitely doable as long as the gas pumps and canopy are delivered sometime soon.
Everything on the convenience store side of the operation is ready.
Even if they don’t launch in 2018, Kobliski said NCN will be holding the business’s grand opening in January.
NCN Chief Marcel Moody said tax-free gas will be a big draw for Indigenous motorists, especially since this business is located next to the band’s hotel, bar and new cannabis store that opened its doors Dec. 12.
“We want to take advantage of the demographics in the community by providing tax-free gas for Aboriginal people,” he said Nov. 23. “There’s a market for that in Thompson based on a place like Winnipeg that has tax-free gas for our people and they do really well.”
This gas station has been in development for over a year now, after being officially announced back in April 2017. It is located on NCN’s urban reserve property in Thompson, which also includes the Mystery Lake Hotel. NCN also owns and operates Family Foods in the Thompson Plaza.
