Watson Lake has one grocery store, ‘Watson Lake Foods.’ It is small, but fully stocked, with a decent selection of ‘ethnic’ type foods. I was happy to find my first loaf of Russian black bread since Ottawa (!) at a fantastic price of 2.50$ as well as, for a treat, a package of pre-made gyoza (Japanese dumplings), for a reasonable price of 5$. I didn’t have any sticker shock whatsoever as I wandered the aisles. Convenience and junk foods were a bit higher than down south, but not significantly so, and fresh produce was comparably priced. I picked up Gala apples for 1.19$/lb, which is a bargain! Cheese is ludicrously expensive, as it is in BC, at a couple of dollars higher than there, but I got some blocks approaching their best by date for very good prices and will freeze them. One thing I noticed is that they’ll have a product, say unsweetened cocoa, but in only one brand and size. So, while I’m used to paying 3.99$ for a small off-brand tin of cocoa, I  had to pay 7.99$ for a large tin of Frye’s brand; no big deal of course but I’m sure some people would have sticker shock at that even though the unit price is comparable.

I got everything I needed and a couple of treats and still met my bi-weekly budget of 75$ without feeling any sort of pinch. The north has yet to be financially intimidating!