Canada’s first No Name grocery store opens in LaSalle, Ont.

The sound of product scanning was prominent on the first day of the new No Name grocery store at the Windsor Crossing Premium Outlet Mall.

“I really do think that this store is going to get a lot of use,” said LaSalle mayor, Crystal Meloche, who toured the story Thursday morning.

“It’s absolutely important. We have heard it from our residents that they need help, they need ways to save a few dollars when grocery shopping. They’re having a hard time putting food on the table.

The ultra-discount store launched by grocery giant, Loblaw, promises shoppers they can save up to 20 per cent and about two-thirds of the products in stock are priced under $5.

“We’ve looked at how we run a store, and we’ve reduced our cost,” said Melanie Singh, president of the hard discount division.

“As you can see, it’s a different experience than what we usually have in our typical grocery store and we’ve taken all the savings of cost and we’ve passed it on through price to our customer.”

Students were at the store early, looking for a job and to shop.

“There’s a lot of students that I’m sure are really looking for those shelf staples to have in their residence rooms,” said Tashlyn Teskey, a senior manager at Workforce Windsor-Essex. “Even just for the residents around there, having a great option like that. The cost of groceries is really skyrocketing and that’s really impacting a lot of people.”

Customers noticed a difference on their receipts.

“It was good,” Pauline Torti said. “$31 and I got quite a few things. Fresh vegetables and things that I can use today and on the weekend.”

Loblaw chose the location based on rent and ability to get up and running quickly. The store is the first of three in Ontario, part of a six-month pilot.

The doors open as Windsor’s unemployment rate stands at 9.1 per cent, almost four per cent higher than it was a year ago at this time.

“This can really help everyone across the board if they can get out to that location,” Teskey said.