Crampton’s celebrates relocation

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This article was published 13/05/2019 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jarrett Davidson wanted dirt under his fingernails and he wasn’t going to get it as a big shot broker of mergers and acquisitions with his company, Score Capital Partners.

So 21/2 years ago he purchased T&T Seeds on Roblin Boulevard, and this week he opened Crampton’s Market as its new owner in a new location next door to T&T.

“With mergers and acquisitions, I wore a suit downtown every day for 10 years. What I missed was having a tangible product, and what I also missed was dealing with retail. I like dealing with customers,” the University of Manitoba commerce graduate said.

There were free cinnamon buns and coffee during Friday’s grand opening.

Crampton’s mantra has been local, healthy and organic foods. It has operated at Bishop Grandin Boulevard and Waverley Street since 1997.

“The Crampton’s brand is second to none in offering local food and supporting local farmers,” Davidson, 44, said.

However, Manitoba Hydro gave the company notice it wouldn’t renew its hydro lease this year. The location is in the middle of a Hydro right-of-way near towers and high-voltage power lines.

Relocation would be costly and require operating year-round to make it pay, so original owner Erin Crampton sought a buyer. Her parents, Sam and Paulette Crampton, the owners of Crampton’s Manitoba Maid jams, also sold their business last year but in a different transaction.

Crampton’s Market was a natural fit for Davidson, who had family members involved in the grocery business back in Moosomin, Sask., and because of his ownership of property next door to T&T.

The new Crampton’s is a converted three-bedroom home that Davidson formerly rented. The renovation cost nearly $1 million with a complete upgrade to commercial standards. He moved Crampton’s former building and it is now used for coolers and dry package warehousing.

A three-car garage was converted into its new bakery, which makes a host of baked products and bread such as spelts, sourdoughs, alpine bread and something called a “magic” bread that dehydrates and can be rehydrated by adding water and sticking it in the oven. There are also pies.

It also features local produce (the asparagus arrives next week), free-range eggs and grass-fed meats, including a large selection of buffalo meat.

Both Crampton’s and T&T employ 35 people each. Davidson sees synergies between the two stores in attracting some of the same clientele, and Shelmerdine Garden Centre is a couple of doors down. The combined parking lot of Crampton’s and T&T accommodates 90 vehicles. Davidson also owns World of Water.

It’s a 20-minute drive to Crampton’s new location from the old site. The store company has a loyal following and will pick up new customers, too, Davidson said.

“There aren’t many stores like this one and we will attract people from Charleswood, Tuxedo, River Heights, St. James, Headingley — folks that probably never went to Crampton’s before,” he said.

Crampton’s will serve coffee, including espresso and cappuccino, to enhance it as a destination.

There are many other new touches. When you park, it’s more like you should be tying up a horse because there are metal troughs instead of curbs. The troughs don’t contain water but soil and will grow wildflowers and fruit plants “to show off some of the product you can grow in Manitoba,” Davidson said.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca