Fifty years strong: It’s always been about the cause
By Bruce W. Cole
From left to right: Georgian Bay Whole Foods team members Quin and Kim with founder Dellard, successor Kjell, and Kjell’s partner and fellow employee, Cassie
A couple years ago, with the 50th anniversary of his natural health food store on the horizon, Dellard Labrosse was starting to feel the weight of the five decades he had spent building and maintaining his business. But he’s not just the founder of Georgian Bay Whole Foods in Parry Sound, ON—Dellard also operated a natural food warehouse and ran a delivery service that supplied dozens of health food stores over Central Ontario.
“It was time for change,” says Dellard. “From all the driving, running the warehouse, and running the store, I was physically burned out.”
But Dellard’s dream wasn’t retirement. Instead, he wanted to create some time to pursue other interests. Ideally, he needed someone to take over the day-to-day ownership and operation of Georgian Bay Whole Foods. His goal was to ensure that the store—open since January 1, 1976—stayed in business to serve the people of Parry Sound and surrounding regions, guaranteeing that they had a local source for organic and natural health products.
“I couldn’t leave my customers stuck,” he says, citing shoppers begging him not to close. “I offer nutrition and better health to the people, my customers, my community.”
Try as he might, Dellard’s attempts at securing his store’s future kept falling apart.
“I just couldn’t find the right person to lead it,” he recalls. “Then, I thought of creating a customer co-op, and I had someone in mind, but it didn’t work out. I was at the point where it looked like my last option was to walk away … just close it up. I was going to list it with a local real estate company. I was at the end of my rope.”
A shot in the dark
Sometimes, the solution to a problem arrives in the most unusual of manners. And in this case, Dellard describes having an epiphany one evening in late 2024—the answer taking shape in the form of a name: Kjell.
Of all the people Dellard knew, you might guess that Kjell Klockars would be one of the least likely people to take over Georgian Bay Whole Foods. He was a local guy, an arborist by trade, whom Dellard had only met a few times through Kjell’s wife.
“It was kind of wild,” recalls Dellard. “His name just came to me out of the blue.”
But he had an inkling about Kjell, a very positive feeling. Dellard was confident that Kjell could be the person. The day after his epiphany, he reached out to Kjell to run the idea of buying the store by him.
“The conversation between us really came from the heart,” Dellard says. "I just knew it would work.”
Within 24 hours, the deal was done. Kjell came to work at the store in December 2024, showing a real propensity for natural retailing from the start. “He really took to it; he really understood the culture,” says Dellard. “He had only been living in Parry Sound for about a year, but he already knew everybody. He’s great at remembering names and has that entrepreneurial spirit, a good moral compass, and an ability to learn. He has skills, talent, and social tools.”
On January 1, 2026—50 years to the day that Dellard opened Georgian Bay Whole Foods—Kjell took over as the new owner.
The act of passing his torch filled Dellard with a combination of joy and relief, knowing his store was in good hands and that its legacy would continue. “Kjell believes in this stuff. He has saved me from the despair of having to close the store,” says Dellard. “It’s going to carry on; my life’s work is not going to disappear. This beacon of hope, education, food, and products will continue.”
A true pioneer
Dellard was a first-hand witness and participant in the cultivation and growth of the natural health industry—a true pioneer.
“When I first started, this concept of natural health didn’t really exist in Ontario,” he says. “The seeds had been planted in Michigan, California, and British Columbia, but our society was still very much meat, potatoes, white sugar, and white flour.”
When Georgian Bay Whole Foods opened, Dellard says it was only the fifth health food store in the province. Over the years, he recalls lending a hand to many new retailers in central and northern Ontario. His trucking company, Blue Water Trading, was a lifeline for many of these remote stores, delivering products from the Toronto warehouse Dellard maintained for 25 years.
Despite the hard work of Dellard and other retailers who have followed over the past five decades, he acknowledges that the industry still has a lot of growing to do. “We’re still fringe, but we provide people with options,” he says. “It’s all about supporting people in understanding and improving their health. Sharing my knowledge, education, and personal experiences is all I can really do.
“I’m always encouraging people to read. I’ll even get out a book and read it together with a customer. I’m not a doctor; I’m more like a flashlight, guiding them towards understanding ... like a teacher. People are welcome to pick my brain—it’s free.”
When asked to recount one of his proudest moments, Dellard says: “I can’t say that I am most proud of one specific accomplishment because it has been a day-by-day, person-by-person thing. Helping customers is where I get my satisfaction. Helping people learn that everything in the body is connected; that it’s an amazing biochemical machine. It’s about reaching the person on their level. That is my best reward.”
A new chapter
Since Dellard’s dream was never to head off into the sunset, he’s joined Kjell as a consultant, continuing to share his passion and knowledge with customers.
With more time to pursue hobbies and other projects, Dellard most recently turned to helping the people of Jamaica recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. With a property in Jamaica, Dellard has been doing all he can to support his neighbours and his community in their recovery from the Category 5 storm strike that produced landslides, flooding, and immeasurable property damage.
Dellard is also bringing his decades of natural health experience to a new project in Jamaica: “I’m starting another operation in Jamaica with a young pharmacist I met,” he explains. “We are going to marry the concept of a health food ‘superstore’ with a pharmacy. There’s a need for this there.”
When CNHR interviewed Dellard for a feature on Georgian Bay Whole Foods back in 2003, the story ended with a quote from him, reading: “I know I can’t quit … there’s still so much to do.” Twenty-two years later, it sounds like he’s not changed one bit: “Fifty years ago, I set out to save the world. Now, it’s about saving one person at a time. It’s about serving the community … It’s never been about the money; it’s always been about the cause.”