Pacific Point Market is a full-service grocery store that prides itself on a solid meat and deli program focusing on expert quality at affordable prices. One scan of its impressive meat and deli department and it is clear that Pacific Point is a place to shop for fresh and tasty items.
“We want to offer a unique shopping experience,” says general manager Chris McMillan. “We have chosen to create quality products such as store-made sausage and other deli items.”
Brian MacDonald manages Pacific Point’s meat department and has been with the store since it opened in June 2015. With more than 30 years experience as a butcher, MacDonald says he has an easy quality test for all of his meat.
“My standard is to ask myself if I would bring it home for myself and my wife,” says MacDonald. “If it doesn’t pass that test with me, it doesn’t go out.”
In addition to fresh cuts of chicken, pork, beef and other meats, all of which are sourced from BC and Canada, MacDonald also creates value-added meat items that are unique to Pacific Point.
“I make boneless stuffed chicken leg that customers get over and over again, and they rave about it,” says MacDonald. “We also have a double-stuffed chicken breast and stuffed pork chop. I taste-test the recipes on the staff here and if it doesn’t pass with them, it doesn’t go out either. We have to like everything that we are serving.”
Some highlights of MacDonald’s meat program include hormone-free, antibiotic-free chicken from the Cowichan Valley, fresh Canadian pork that is expertly trimmed and lean beef that is aged 21 days or more so it is extra tender, says MacDonald.
Deli manager Jeannie Norman uses the same standards of quality as MacDonald, baking and preparing all of her deli items from scratch. Popular items include handmade breakfast sandwiches and wraps, burritos, sub sandwiches and a variety of made-from-scratch salads and soups.
“We get a lot of great feedback about the deli and I feel the same way as Brian; if I wouldn’t eat it or give it to my family, I wouldn’t put it out,” says Norman.
Like McMillan and MacDonald, Norman was born and raised in Powell River and has been working in delis for more than 10 years. She also began working at Pacific Point when it opened last June and brought her flair for food with her.
“A lot of the deli recipes are my own ideas and I’m constantly reading cookbooks,” says Norman. “If someone else is reading a book, I’m usually reading a cookbook. I find recipes and add things to them, as well as just make up my own.”
McMillan says the secret to Pacific Point’s success so far is the dedication and hard work of his team, as well as the market’s commitment to homemade recipes.
“The staff members are all incredible; they are very dedicated,” says McMillan. “Their work is tireless and we really pride ourselves on the fact that they come up with their own recipes and everything is homemade.”
MacDonald says Pacific Point’s management and vision is right in line with his own standards and he could not be happier heading up the market’s meat department.
“It’s a blast; I love it. I loved this project right from the get-go,” says MacDonald. “I love what [owner] Tod [English] has built here and the team he has put together, and the fact that we focus on quality and reasonable prices; I’ve always appreciated that approach.”
Pacific Point Market is open 6 am-10 pm, seven days a week. To learn about local delivery service in the Powell River area, including Savary Island, to order meat and deli trays, or for more information, call 604.489.9111, email [email protected] or go to pacificpointmarket.com.
