Grand opening today at Buckerfield's Vernon

Timed to coincide with this glorious spring weekend weather, Buckerfield's official grand opening in Vernon is today, 8 am to 6 pm.

While the country store at 1200 Waddington Drive has actually been open since Jan. 30, spring was deemed more apropos for the grand opening.

Home owners, homesteaders, gardeners, hobby farmers, pet owners and DIYers are being invited to drop by, check out the merchandise, enter draws, grab a drink and a bite to eat, meet staff and local suppliers who will have booths outside.

The store is in BC Tree Fruits' former Growers Supply Company building just off Highway 6.

"We've already had a warm welcome and great feedback in Vernon since we opened at the end of January," said Buckerfield's Vernon interim manager Toni Walton, who is also the manager of the Buckerfield's Salmon Arm.

"But, the official grand opening is a special occasion to let everyone know we're here and we welcome you."

While billed as a country store or a farm and feed supply store, Buckerfield's is really so much more.

Since Buckerfield's is a household name in BC (it has nine other stores in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Salmon Arm, Abbotsford, Saanich, Langford, Duncan, Nanaimo and Parksville) people tend to know all about its eclectic selection and vibe.

Its six key categories of sales are garden supplies and bedding plants, farm animal feed, wild bird food and supplies, pet food and supplies, hardware and miscellaneous -- everything from some socks and shoes to some clothing and some books.

In all, Buckerfield's touts carrying 90,000 items in its stores, a mind-boggling array of home, garden, pet, farm and lifestyle products.

"Vernon is the 10th store in the chain and it's been a well thought out expansion plan," explained Walton.

"It makes sense to open a Buckerfield's in Vernon right now because we had a lot of people from the North Okanagan travelling to Salmon Arm or Kelowna if they wanted to shop at Buckerfield's. Plus, the Buckerfield's Vernon store has a big, built-in catchment area of the entire North Okanagan."

Buckerfield's was founded in 1919 by Ernest Buckerfield and by the 1930s and 1940 it was the largest livestock feed company in BC.

Along the way, the company got into retail and has morphed into the chain of stores we know today.

In 2022, Abbotsford-based Stonemark Group of Companies acquired Buckerfield's.

Stonemark is a private equity investment firm that invests in agriculture, technology and real estate.

Some of its other holdings includes Ritchie-Smith Feeds (the largest livestock feed producer in BC), Sure Crop Feeds, Supreme Animal Nutrition and real estate in the Lower Mainland.