New owner takes over Shelburne Foodland at Emerald Crossing Plaza

June 12, 2025 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Shelburne Foodland is moving into another chapter, as they welcome new owner – Nehmat Haidari.

Haidari purchased the Shelburne Foodland location in April, when the previous owner, Sandy Bell, retired after more than a decade of owning the local franchise.

Speaking with the Free Press, Haidari said he had been looking for a Foodland location to purchase for a number of years, but never came across one that would allow his family to stay close to their home in Bolton.

That was until the Shelburne location became available.

“When I knew they were retiring, it just felt right,” said Haidari.

Haidari has worked in retail and within grocery stores for more than 20 years. At the age of 15, he started as a part-time employee with Fortinos in the meat department. During his time with Fortinos, he moved to different positions including meat wrapper, meat cutter, and then eventually the meat department manager. Before leaving Fortinos, Haidari held the position of assistant store manager.

Six years ago, he purchased a Foodland location in Brampton.

“The previous store I had was smaller and having worked at Fortinos, I was used to a higher volume store,” explained Haidari. “I needed a challenge, something that was bigger and that I’m able to contribute more with.”

When asked about what has impressed him most since joining the store, Haidari simply states – the staff.

“It’s a great community. I have a great team here and a good set of staff, who most have been with the store for a long time. It’s been amazing.”

As he prepares to take the Shelburne Foodland into its next chapter, Haidari is making plans to better help serve the growing community, particularly by bringing in a larger variety of items.

“I noticed that we have a good amount of diversity here, with people from different nationalities,” said Haidari. “Having my team together here with me, we’ve come up with a plant to start slowly brining in more varieties to cater to these different groups.”

Shelburne Foodland is located in the Emerald Crossing Plaza at 824 Ojibway Rd.