Contemporary Kimberley market
Locally grown, locally baked, locally produced and organic foodstuffs fill the shelves and bins at the Centex store in Kimberley
1 of 5Pat Bentley (L) and her daughter Jill Bentley-Lobban work at their family-owned store, a popular neighbourhood market attached to the Centex gas station in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo
2 of 5Mackie Bentley-Lobban (L) joined her mother, Pat Bentley, at the family-owned store, a popular neighbourhood market attached to the Centex gas station in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo
3 of 5These bright, locally grown veggies are available at the Centex store in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo
4 of 5Fresh, locally grown cabbages and root vegetables are available at the Centex store in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo
5 of 5Pumpkins make an eye-catching seasonal display outside the Centex store in Kimberley, B.C. — Marie Milner photo
When they took over the gas station and convenience store at 521 Wallinger Avenue in Kimberley, B.C., way back in August 1986, new owners Bill Lobban and Pat Bentley started bringing in fresh produce to sell in the store, and its produce is what the store has become best known for.
In fact, at first glance passersby may not realize that the store is attached to the Centex gas station. The heaping bins of colourful seasonal vegetables and fruits and hundreds of gaily patterned African marketing baskets are unusual offerings to find at a local gas station.
The family that works
The store is a family-run operation. The Bentley-Lobban girls, Jill and Mackie, grew up among the pumpkins and zucchini and continue to be involved in the business. Jill is taking a semester away from her studies at the University of British Columbia to work with her family, and Mackie lends a hand whenever she has time away from her job with Canyon Raft Company in Fernie.
“It’s great having Mackie around because she’s chill,” Bentley said. “Jill and I tend to get excited about stuff, and Mackie keeps us calm. She and Jill are very close.”
Sourcing healthy food for their community
Lobban said that over the years, the store has become oriented to healthy food with lots of organic choices.
“People have become more interested in eating healthier, and now about 40 per cent of our produce is organic,” he said. “We’ve developed our own niche, buying local produce and eggs and milk. We wanted to offer something different and we’ve evolved into a specialty store.”
Lobban and Bentley source their merchandise from as close to home as possible, extending their range as necessary to provide variety.
“We get baked goods in from Kimberley City Bakery and Loaf Bakery in Fernie,” Bentley said. “We get produce from farmers we’ve dealt with for 30 years in Creston, Oliver and Osoyoos. We get our organic nuts and our fish and tofu from suppliers in Nelson and free-range organic eggs from Creston. We get our cheeses from B.C. and Alberta and some from Europe, including vegan cheese, and we get our meats from local suppliers. Our berries come from Whole Foods Market at the coast—they have very high standards.
“We’re open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day of the year. It’s a very comfortable little business. We’d be willing to sell it to the right people, but we love it and we’re happy here.”
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