After 38 years in the grocery business, Bev and Rod Lougheed are going to enjoy some much deserved free time. Serving the community of Arcola for 26 years and then an additional 12 years in Carlyle, as owners of the Carlyle Food World, they will be turning over the reins to new owners beginning September 30, 2019. While they were not actively looking to sell the business, the Lougheeds had let their wholesalers know that if the right people came along, they would consider it.
Meanwhile, Jin Lee and his wife Ellie Ahn were actively seeking a place to put down roots and establish themselves in business. Jin Lee is an accountant by trade and emigrated to Calgary in 2008, along with his parents, from South Korea. Ellie Ahn, also from South Korea, came to Calgary in 2010 and worked as a researcher in the field of neuroscience at the University of Calgary. Jin Lee owned a small grocery store but the community was shrinking, with an aging population and few young families. Thus began a search that covered British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan as the couple looked for a healthy, vibrant community, where they could settle in and raise a family while growing their business.
While visiting Saskatchewan, they came to Carlyle and said that when they drove down the Main Street, looking at the businesses, they knew that this was the place they wanted to live. They are very excited to become a part of the community and want to reassure the customers of Foodworld that they will not be making any changes at the store. They have listened to the customers expressing how much they love the “from scratch” baked goods, the meat department and the staff. Perhaps in two to three years, as they grow to know what their customers might like to see added to the store, they will make changes, but for now, they know a good thing when they see it.
As for Bev and Rod Lougheed, they are happy to fade quietly into retirement, knowing that they have done their best to provide for their customers in the future, through Jin Lee and Ellie Ahn. The Lougheeds were impressed with the amount of research and the thoughtfulness behind the couple’s decision to choose Carlyle out of the many communities they had explored. Lougheed says he is grateful for the support they have received over their years in Arcola and Carlyle and believes that the business will be in good hands. He hopes that their customers will continue to extend the same loyalty and friendships to the new owners and wishes them success in the future as they build a family, friends and their business in Carlyle.
