Askew's Foods Weekly Flyers

Askew's Foods

In 1929 Dick Askew purchased the Salmon Arm branch of the AE Palmer and Company and started what is now Askew’s Foods. He had big plans and had rapidly expanded to stores in the surrounding communities. However, times were tough and he soon had to scale back.

Under the leadership of his son Lloyd, granddaughter Karen and current General Manager, grandson David, the company has grown so that it now has stores in Armstrong and Sicamous as well as in the original location of Salmon Arm.

There are three key aspects to Askew’s success as a locally owned independent in a market place populated by much larger companies. First, Askew’s has a reputation for selling quality goods at competitive prices. Our grandfather described this as “providing value” to our customers. Second, Askew’s sees its success is tied to the health of the communities we operate in. Our father Lloyd was very community oriented and we follow in his footsteps in supporting many community organizations and activities in the towns where our stores are located.

This includes buying from local producers and using local suppliers, lawyers, accountants and other providers of business services. Finally, our business is dependent on the dedication and goodwill of Askew’s employees. We value and appreciate their efforts on behalf of our customers. For their part, our customers remark that it is a pleasure to shop in stores where the staff really seem to be enjoying their work. This is the Askew tradition and we are proud of it.

In the immediate future, we are proceeding with our plans to build our fourth store, to be located in a neighbourhood shopping plaza, Askew’s Uptown, in Salmon Arm. This second Salmon Arm store will be almost double the size of our existing downtown store and will include an in-store bakery and larger deli as well as the meat, produce, dairy and grocery departments that Askew’s is noted for.

Our vision for the future can be simply stated as maintaining the “Askew tradition”, continuing as a locally owned independent, and continuing to expand within the Shuswap, Thompson, Okanagan region as opportunities arise.