DTES grocery store uncertain of future after spending thousands on security

The owners of the only full-service grocery store in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside say they are unsure if they will be able to stay in the Woodward’s building.

Pattison Food Group says operating Nesters Market is challenging, given the level of crime in the neighbourhood.

The company says that shoplifting losses at that store are double what other locations see on average and it spends thousands on security to keep staff and customers safe.

“This has the highest operating cost in our entire chain and it’s a very low volume store,” Pattison Food Group president Jamie Nelson told Global News, adding that it is the most shoplifted Nesters in the province.

In late March, a shoplifter lit a fire in one of the aisles, sparking a fire that caused more than half a million dollars in damage and forced the store to close for two weeks.

Victor Atkinson, 50, was originally charged with arson to inhabited property and theft but pleaded guilty in June to the lesser charge of arson to property.

He received a two-year conditional sentence followed by two years of probation.

Following his arrest at the nearby Gastown Hotel SRO, Atkinson told police he started the fire at Nesters in the Woodward’s building as a distraction tactic so he could continue shoplifting, which he does to support his drug use.

While acknowledging his guilty plea saved court time and considerable Crown and police resources, prosecutors said Atkinson posed an incredible danger to everyone else – just so he could shoplift.

Nelson said there has to be consequences for people’s actions and if there are not, things won’t change.

He said they want to keep serving the community, but if the economics don’t make sense, they may have to make a difficult decision.