The Otter Co-op’s newest Aldergrove addition, Liquor on 248th, opened its doors at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Langley Township councillors, Co-op board members and customers buzzed eagerly outside the modern storefront. A precursor to ribbon-cutting included speeches from councillor Bob Long, the head of the Aldergrove Business Association (ABA), Jodi Steeves, and CEO of Otter Co-op himself, Jack Nicholson.
Liquor on 248th “is sure to draw customers from not only from Aldergrove, and not only citizens from the Township but citizens from across the Fraser valley,” councillor Long said publicly.
“There has been countless hours, especially in this last week just to make sure that we crossed the finish line so that you can see this beautiful product that we have to offer you today,” said Nicholson.
“I sincerely thank our Otter team.”
Nicholson and Long cut the ribbon amid a roar of applause and cheering from long-time customers.
“It’s awesome. It keeps people in the area, cause if you go into Langley to shop, your not gonna go there just for booze you’re gonna go there for other things,” said Aldergrove resident Keith Wiebe.
“We’ve been members here for 40 years and we’d rather support a local business,” his wife Roseanne said. The married couple was taken back by the modern, yet rustic charm of the 10,000-square-foot retail space.
Liquor on 248th offers many incentives for local wine and spirits lovers including a wine locker program where customers can purchase a secured cabinet in store, which—after meeting with a sommelier about their taste preference and budget—will be filled with a curated assortment of liquor the first Friday of each month.
The minimum monthly budget to particpate is $150.
Other popular perks include the exclusive Co-op wine label—the Angry Otter—which tasters at the private event on Wednesday described as “fruity, light and flavourful.”
The store also boasts the largest walk-in beer cooler in B.C., filled with both local brews and popular exports from other provinces and cities across the globe.
Otter Co-op is a federal retail co-operative that has been serving the Fraser Valley and Interior since 1922 when it was founded by a group of Fraser Valley farmers.
Today, the 97-year-old Otter Co-op boasts 19 locations and more than 32,000 active members who share in the profits based on how much they spend on fuel, groceries, clothing, housewares, farm supplies and more.
The Aldergrove location still remains the company’s flagship with the retail operation, a feed plant and now the state-of-the-art Liquor on 248th which will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
