Abbi Family, 25-year Veterans of the Iconic Downtown Thoroughfare, Reclaim Derelict Building; Bank on Growing Business Amidst Neighbourhood Redevelopments 

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Peter and Ritu Abbi, the husband-and-wife owners of Main Meats and Groceteria, were adamant about staying put on the Main Street strip when they learned the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s major development on the downtown thoroughfare would mean relocating their business.

After 25 years serving clients from a building on the west side of the iconic street, the couple worked with CentreVenture Development Corporation to ensure their relocation in the neighbourhood would not only be possible, but also make good business sense. Looking at the bigger picture, Main Meats’ purchase and reclamation of a long-vacant, derelict building will ultimately contribute to the renewal that is underway on Main Street between Alexander and Higgins Avenues.

Before the Abbis bought the two-storey Kaplan Building, which now houses their sizeable retail grocery shop and commercial delivery service, the 94-year-old edifice at 661 Main had been vacant for several years and listed on CentreVenture’s inventory as a development opportunity. 

Today, the Abbis celebrated their official opening, welcoming new and long-time customers and neighbours, City of Winnipeg councillors Mike Paktaghan and Justin Swandel, and CentreVenture officials to the all-new Main Meats and Groceteria.

“We want to stay here and grow with the community. We know our clientele. Some, we have been serving for 25 years,” said Ritu Abbi, whose two children also help out in the shop. “Now, we hope to do even better with the new developments. I hear the WRHA building will have hundreds of workers and that the Bell Hotel redevelopment will bring new residents.”

Husband Peter noted, “We didn’t want to move anywhere else. Downtown is doing better. With the new developments and empty buildings being bought, this area will be very good for business. Thanks to the work of our architect Jac Comeau and Capstone Construction, everything in our store is brand new and we hope to attract new clients.

“The Salvation Army, with 300 people residing there, the Aboriginal Centre, the Red Road Lodge and Edge Artists Village are doing their best to bring the community back to its roots. By bringing more people to the area, Main Street will be okay.” Peter Abbi added.

CentreVenture CEO Ross McGowan said, “Main Meats is a clear demonstration of how major redevelopment should occur. That is, not displacing people but integrating them back into the community in a bigger and better way.

“The $40-million WRHA headquarters and health services centre — the most significant development on Main Street in decades — is kick-starting further neighbourhood development and, now, with Main Meats we are seeing the first example of that ripple effect. The Abbis have taken a derelict property and given it new life. They have done us all a favour.”

Originally known as the Calder Building, 661 Main at Henry Ave. was developed by Alexander Calder and Son, a private employment and steamship/railway ticket agency founded in the late 1880s. That business occupied space in the building until the 1950s but it was renamed the Kaplan Building when J & B Kaplan Dry Goods and Kaplan Manufacturing Co. began operating out of the building around 1940. During the five-month refurbishing project, architectural features from the original building – including tin ceiling tiles – were incorporated into the façade and interior furnishings.

CentreVenture has been an advocate and catalyst for business investment and development in Winnipeg’s downtown since 1999. The arms-length city agency works in partnership with the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, and in concert with the private sector, to revitalize the city centre with an emphasis on redevelopment of vacant downtown buildings and land.