When Kyle and Sarah Hertner took over the Sarnia No Frills location at 889 Exmouth St. in March of 2020, they weren’t just buying a grocery store, they were investing in a community.
For Kyle, the decision to move to Sarnia was driven by something simple but deeply personal: a love of the water.
“My goal was always to be near water,” Kyle said “ I wanted to be near a lake of some kind or a river, or some kind of water. So [when] Sarnia became available, it was a really big draw for me, because you guys have a really, really nice waterfront and it seemed like a really nice area. If you're an outdoors person too, which – we enjoy trails, we enjoy being outside – Canatara Park is really, really nice. And then the waterfront, just being near the water by the river and everything, is, it's incredible. They do a really good job in Sarnia taking care of their public spaces. So that was a huge draw for me anyway.”
From the beginning, the couple has made community involvement a cornerstone of their work. Kyle said they were immediately impressed by the generosity of local residents.
“I think the community is very generous,” he said. “I'm pretty blown away. I think the very first time we did Cops for Cans, which is a donation event for the Inn of the Good Shepherd. So many people would come up and donate and just not even just from the store. They would roll up in their vehicles, and they'd open their tailgate on their truck or the back of their SUVs or whatever, and donate just tons of food. And I thought that was pretty amazing.”
Sarah recalls a similar moment of surprise and pride when she first learned about Sarnia’s involvement in the annual Canstruction event, a large-scale food drive and display competition at Lambton Mall.
“The first year we were here, I saw an advertisement on Facebook, [for] the CANstruction and I was kind of blown away that such a small city was like involved in something organized like that big,” she said. “And so we got involved in it the very first year we were here as it was a little bit hectic, but it was really cool to see how many organizations within the community donated and came together to help the inn.”
For Sarah, this sense of connection defines her character.
“In general, it's a small-town feel here,” she said. “Everybody seems to care about each other.”
The Hertners have tried to live up to that spirit.
“We try to help pretty much anybody who asks within our limits,” Sarah said.
Kyle adds that being able to support youth programs has been particularly rewarding.
After partnering with the Sarnia Sting’s School Days initiative and supplying snacks for the kids, they received heartfelt letters of thanks.
“The more we give to the community, the more they will support us also, and we’ve noticed that,” said Kyle. “The customer base that we've grown now, part of that is due to being so involved in the community, and it’s nice to feel part of the community,” added Sarah.
Taking over a business just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began brought unprecedented challenges.
“COVID was really difficult. There was no winning,” said Kyle.
While keeping the store running was tough, Kyle shares that the hardest part was the human impact.
“The business side of the epidemic wasn’t the hard part,” he explains. “But seeing the struggle, and the human side of everything, keeping staff safe, following bylaws, respecting people and trying to be a professional was what was difficult. That was probably the most challenging time I've ever had managing a grocery store in my life.”
Even beyond the pandemic, the store’s growing popularity has presented its own hurdles.
“We’re just getting busier,” Kyle said. “It’s hard to anticipate what we need.” Recently, tariffs have introduced a new set of challenges, particularly around product sourcing and customer expectations. Everybody was coming in and checking labels. So different products that used to move, people boycotted and stopped buying.”
This shift meant the store had to make quick changes to its ordering, especially for produce.
“We don’t throw anything in the garbage,” he said. “We donate the produce we can’t sell back to local farms, but for the business it was hard because we were ordering products people usually buy, and we lose that money when the products go bad and are donated.”
Some local farms use unsellable produce for composting, fertilizer, and soil enrichment.
Kyle shared that when the tariffs were announced, he was informed by their head office that they were working to procure more Canadian made items, at the time 30 or more vendors had been added, but there were more to come.
When asked what advice they’d give to others considering opening or owning a business in Sarnia, the Hertners didn’t hesitate.
“The Sarnia community is great to be part of,” Kyle said. “Once you're part of it and they know kind of what you're about and [that] you support them, I believe they support you back. Even if you don't give stuff away, if you get involved in community events, I believe the community will come and support whatever business that is and take part in it to help you back.”
For Kyle and Sarah, their journey with NoFrills has been about much more than running a grocery store. It’s been about creating connections, supporting their neighbors, and making a home in a community that has welcomed them with open arms.
Randi Palmer
