Payfair Store (615 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg)

This one-storey brick building on Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg was constructed in 1929 by contractor William James Lailey as a grocery store for Piggly Wiggly Canadian Limited. It opened officially on 22 June 1929. Sold to Safeway Stores Limited in 1935, and later operated as a Payfair store, the building, with a relatively unmodified exterior from its original appearance, was in use as a community office at the time of a 2020 site visit.

Former Piggly Wiggly and Safeway store on Ellice Avenue in Winnipeg (September 2019)
Source: George Penner

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.89315, W97.15993
denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Piggly wiggly two more stores,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 June 1929, page 6.

“For Easter … It’s Swift’s premium ham,” Winnipeg Tribune, 8 April 1936, page 12.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

“Piggly wiggly company opens store no. 20,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 October 1929, page 29.

This page was prepared by George Penner, Jordan Makichuk, and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 2 November 2022

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