Celebrating One Hundred Years at Hurl’s

Located at 1608 Princess, Hurl’s Food Mart is easily accessible to BU students, especially those in residence. Because of its proximity to campus, we wanted to find out more about what the store offered students, and spoke to owner Murray Hurl about it.

Hurl pointed out to that not only does the store carry competitive prices on groceries that may appeal to the student populace (the example he gave us was Kraft Dinner at 99 cents), but that the store also carries handmade food that you may not be able to get anywhere else. He told us that they make their own pizzas and subs, as well as baked goods like doughnuts.

He also introduced us to a number of items that set their selection apart from other stores: they offer bread that is free of preservatives, fair-trade coffee, and a wide selection of locally-made frozen foods, which includes pizza pops and perogies from the Perogie Pantry in Oak Lake, a popular business that supports events run by the Brandon School Division. More recently, they began offering certified organic beef, the only store in western Canada where it is available. All of these, Hurl told us, make the store very popular among students who live off-campus and are looking for something homemade, or who want to make their own food.

The second week of December is the 100th anniversary of the store (they have been at their current location for 33 of those years), and Hurl told us that there would be special events taking place on the 10th through the 12th.

With the coming anniversary, Hurl mentioned how the store has been maintaining a relationship with BU since its Brandon College days, helping out with events like the movie nights, which the store donates movies and popcorn to. Hurl hopes to continue the store’s relationship with university, and still see lots of students drop by.