TENDER ISSUED

New liquor store coming to New Waterford.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. has issued a tender for the first part of a two-phase renovation of its New Waterford location.

The outlet is located at 3434 Plummer Ave., in a standalone building owned by the corporation. The tender document is 236 pages and includes a project manual prepared by consultant Stantec. The tender closes Nov. 1.

“It’s the first phase of two phases of work that we plan to do at that store,” said NSLC spokesperson Beverley Ware.

The project consists of interior renovations involving the point of sale area of the store, including replacement of the cash registers.

The refrigerated area of the store will also be replaced. That area, which Ware described as being a “reach-in” unit, will become a “Cool Zone” and will be walk-in unit.

The work is expected to be completed prior to Christmas, Ware said.

The tender notes that a mandatory site meeting will take place at the retail location today. All bidders must attend.

The building, which is 7,400 square feet, was constructed in the 1960s. There are 12 employees working out of the location. The store will remain open while the work proceeds.

The second phase of work will be a refresh of the interior of the store, Ware said, with the tender expected to be issued in the new year.

It’s not the only NSLC outlet in Cape Breton that is undergoing changes.

Upcoming renovations to the Whitney Pier location on Victoria Road in Sydney are in the design stage and then will go to tender.

The company had issued tenders twice in the past year for alternative retail space in the neighbourhood but found nothing suitable.

The standalone Whitney Pier outlet is located in a building owed by the provincially owned Crown corporation.

In Cheticamp, the new store will move less than a kilometre down the road on Main Street from its current location to the renovated Co-Op building and will be about 3,500 square feet.

The location on Grenville Street in St. Peter’s will be in the renovated Foodland complex, next door to the current location, and will be about 3,300 square feet.

Both villages currently have standalone buildings owned by the NSLC.