After moving to Lloydminster in 2020 to join the family business as a City Furniture and Appliances owner, Dil Randhawa continues to grow the chain and is feeling more welcome than ever.
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City Furniture’s new North Battleford location celebrated its official grand opening on Saturday (April 26) with a ribbon cutting.
“It started in Prince George in 1976. Since then, we’ve grown to 25 stores from West Kelowna to North Battleford,” said Randhawa, noting the Lloydminster location celebrated its five-year anniversary on April 5.
Saturday’s ribbon cutting included several special guests and long time supporters of Randhawa’s Lloydminster location.
“We’ve made lots of great connections in the area and were honoured to have Chief Cody Benson of Red Pheasant Cree Nation and Chief Donny Ironchild of Little Pine First Nation in attendance,” said Randhawa.
“The girls from Onion Lake Health Centre were also there. The Indigenous community and the surrounding community have supported us tremendously… we’ve had people drive to Lloydminster from Wilkie to buy a fridge from us. They could have gone to Saskatoon but they chose to deal with us.”
The North Battleford store, located at 2702 99 St., opened in September with the help of several local contractors and businesses.
“We bought the building last spring and had help from Sparkes Builders, Rosswell Homes and Kondro Electric,” said Randhawa. “Creative Concrete and Repair (CCR) did the polished concrete floor, which looks great.
“Those guys are all buddies of mine, but I try to keep as many local people working with us as possible. I love supporting locally as I rely on local support, too.”
In addition to the new store, Randhawa is also excited about the business’ new 55,000 sq. ft. warehouse, situated in the old Maple Leaf Foods building in North Battleford.
“It has seven loading docks and it’s filled to the rafters with appliances, mattresses and furniture,” he said, explaining the warehouse will serve his Lloydminster, North Battleford and Fort McMurray locations.
“Within six months of opening the North Battleford store, my uncles opened locations in White Court and Slave Lake, so the new warehouse will also serve those locations.”
For the Randhawas, locally and out of province, the continued expansion means a lot.
“This was a dream my grandma’s first cousin had with two of his best friends. They started with one store and it’s grown from there,” he said, explaining he loves coming to work every day.
“When you walk into a big-box store, you’re not going to see the owner doing the hand-to-hand work or loading a fridge for you.
“As an owner, my family has skin in the game and donate to local charities or sports teams whenever we can. We’re here for the community and want to thank the community for the support over the years.”
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