Beardy’s new gas site development may feature Tim Hortons
- EFN Staff | February 01, 2017
Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation is looking to get a new gas station that they hope will feature the Tim Horton’s franchise. The site development has been under the works for the past three years.
“We’ve began to start the process of negotiating with town of Duck Lake for a Municipal Services Agreement (MSA), we’ve submitted our application to Tim Horton’s for a franchise agreement,” says Beardy’s Councillor Kevin Seesequasis. “None of the work would have been possible without the support of colleagues on council…Jeremy Seeseequasis has been part of the site development since day one. Chief Financial Officer Juliano Tupone has been working really hard to ensure we have a business plan.”
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He says the First Nation community is embarking on an interesting journey at looking at the idea of economic sovereignty where they want to generate enough resource revenue to control all of their finances.
“I’m really excited on where it’s going and the direction it’s heading. It’s a very unique opportunity for us,” he adds.
In order to finance the project, Seeseequasis said they are going to look at taking loans to build the fuel infrastructure, the building itself, Esso, On The Run and Tim Horton’s franchises. Their hope is to be in a strong financial position to leverage some equity to secure those loans. A significant draw will come from having largely recognized brands Esso, On the Run and Tim Horton’s will be an extremely attractive combination for consumers and customers in the community of Duck Lake and Beardy’s that will be located on the current Blackhawk’s gas station off Highway 11.
They haven’t started construction yet but Chief and Council are hoping with the plans and layouts they have in place to start this summer. They plan on hiring local skilled workers to start constructing the new site once everything is approved.
Beardy's isn't the first to bring on the coffee chain:
- Tim Hortons now served at Dakota Dunes
- Little Black Bear first SK Aboriginal community to own Petro-Can, Tim Hortons
Seeseequasis says the new gas station, which will feature four pumps to service eight vehicles at a time, will create more jobs within the community and sustainable economy in the retail service sector.
“It means more source revenue for our people to direct more programs and services. We’re working hard at managing appropriately our finances so this will be extra boost we need.”
Little Black Bear First Nation opened a Tim Hortons franchise and Petro-Can gas station in Fort Qu’Appelle back in 2015 and has been successful since.