Walking into the brand-new Foodland felt surreal — like I’d accidentally driven to London. I literally walked in, realized I didn’t even grab a cart, and had to go back out to re-orient myself. 😂

Parking was a breeze (a nice win). And because I was one of the first 300 customers, I scored a $10 gift card, and then Pure Country 93 handed me another $10 card plus a fancy insulated red Foodland bag. Not a bad start to my two-hour “grocery store gallery tour.”

Yes — two hours.
But — fewer than 15 items.
So — got the Express lane.
And yes — more than $100 because obviously I needed:

• truffle oil (for pizza, soup, salads, the meaning of life)
• flaky finishing salt (only for ta-da! moments)
• Burrata cheese
• new pizza dough
  …because homemade Margherita pizza is now a personality trait.

It was a little overwhelming not knowing where anything is yet — but honestly, the specialty products are impressive. The international aisle alone could cost me weeks of my life. (No Peanut Butter Love Crunch granola, but I’ve located it on Amazon, so crisis averted.)

And the best part: the heart of Dutton is still here. I loved seeing all the familiar faces, and cracking jokes like always. But there are also lots of new faces, which makes it feel like our little town just got bigger without losing itself. But I did make sure all the new people knew to venture into Dutton to check out The Daily Press Café!

Fun fact: when I popped into West Lorne Foodland afterward for bananas (that I didn’t know we needed), Chelsea told me the new setup means West Lorne can now carry more specialty items too — they can share product with Dutton to meet minimum orders. So fingers crossed for all the fancy things making their way here too.

All I know is… my grocery trips just got a lot longer — not because of lines, but because I’ll be wandering around dazzled by all the shiny new products like a kid in a toy store.. or, more accurately: a mom in the artisanal-cheese aisle.

It’s honestly wild that you’re still in Dutton when you walk through those doors — and I’m definitely not mad about it.
See you in aisle… uh… whichever one I eventually find. 🛒✨