Schoolchildren cut ribbon on new look Northamptonshire food store
The Thrapston Central England Co-op has been transformed with a major investment.
A Central England Co-op in Northamptonshire has been transformed with a major investment to create a more modern and sustainable food store for the local community.
The food store in Oundle Road, Thrapston has been completely refreshed with a brand new look and a whole host of new features as the retailer outlines its commitment to the area.
The store team welcomed children from Thrapston Primary School to help cut the ribbon on the revamped store, presenting them with some Fairtrade goodies as part of the retailer’s celebrations for Fairtrade Fortnight which ends on Sunday (March 6).
The investment in the store has seen changes including:
· A zero-waste refill station, offering products such as cereals, coffee, pasta, rice and dried fruit as well as a partnership with Fieldfare offering ‘scoop your own’ frozen ingredients including a range of items such as pastries, Yorkshire puddings, Cornish pasties and fish cakes, as part of long-term efforts to cut down on plastic packaging and waste
· All new eco-friendly refrigeration and lighting, a recycle station and free water refills
· New features including new self-checkout tills and kiosk, a new food to go section with hot food, Tango Ice Blast and Costa Coffee and new customer toilets with baby changing facilities
· Improved product ranges, including increased local products and the COOK frozen food range
· New signage, as well as a resurfaced car park with wider parking spaces, a free bicycle repair station and seating for the local community
It is the first of several major investments in the retailer’s larger stores in the coming weeks to create more modern and sustainable food stores, following the success of its award-winning transformation of its Boley Park store in Lichfield, Staffordshire which reopened in late 2020.
Oundle Road Store Manager Paul Carvell said: “It has been such an exciting day to finally unveil our brand new look and we are all so thrilled that this store has been chosen for such a significant transformation which offers our customers and members a much-improved shopping experience and some great new ranges and features.
“It was fantastic to welcome children from Thrapston Primary School down to help cut the ribbon, give them a tour around the new look store and talk to them about Fairtrade and present them with some Fairtrade treats to take away to thank them for being part of the day.
“I would like to thank our fantastic community in Thrapston for their patience while the work has taken place to bring this transformation to life. I hope now they have seen the end result they will agree with us it has been worth it.”
The Oundle Road Food Store is open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.
The store offers a wide range of products from everyday necessities to something a little more special. This includes fresh fruit and vegetables, an in-store bakery offering breads and pastries, chilled beers and wines and Irresistible and Fairtrade product ranges.
Customers also have the option to use Scan and Go allowing them to use a mobile app to help make their shopping experience even easier, while there is also Lottery, Paypoint, Collect Plus and foreign currency and a free cash machine.
The store now also offers home delivery with shopping delivered via an eco-friendly electric van.
