A new store in the truest sense, Centra Frosses Road opened its doors on Tuesday 23^rd July 2024, setting out its stall as an enhanced convenience store with an extensive food to go offering, providing a welcome stop for those travelling in the vicinity.

Situated outside Cloughmills, on the A26, the brand-new store and Solo fuel forecourt is a bright and contemporary 3400 sq ft store on the busy route for people travelling from Coleraine, the north coast and Ballymoney, to Ballymena and beyond.

Some 25 full-time and part-time staff are employed across the site, which boasts some of the newest and up-to-date facilities. Offering a wide range of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the store has something for everyone whether travelling home in the evening, on the road for work or out for the day with the family.

Amenities include a hot and cold deli counter with freshly made sandwiches and salads, and a selection of hot food to go. The Frank and Honest Coffee dock provides a wide selection of hot drinks and features 100% compostable coffee cups, plastic free coffee capsules and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans, while a digital loyalty app offers customers a free coffee after earning 10 digital stamps. Sweet treats are also available from the Scoop Ice cream counter.

The new store features a Solo fuel forecourt – which is owned by Andrew Hutchinson, as well as a seating area, customer Wi-Fi and customer toilets.

In addition to an extensive product range, including the new Good Food Locally Sourced range which supports local suppliers, shoppers will benefit from over 100 special offer items every week and over 300 own brand products up to 40% cheaper than better known brands. This is as well as the Epic Deals promotion on four big brand products, which change every three weeks.

The store has also been built with sustainability in mind, as Musgrave and its brands work to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Features include LED lighting, digital screens and top-grade energy efficient refrigeration, with EV charging points planned for the future.

Store owner, Oran McCloskey spoke of his pride in opening the doors of Centra Frosses Road, which he said will provide a “a convenient shopping and refuelling point for customers on the move as well as a great amenity for the surrounding community”.

“I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work so far in getting the store ready and we look forward to welcoming customers and providing them with a one-stop shop for modern convenience,” he added.This store marks the 108^th Centra store to open in Northern Ireland, and comes as Musgrave Northern Ireland announced a £16 million store investment programme across its network for 2024. This includes the opening of new stores, refreshing existing stores, as well as investment in the implementation of energy-saving initiatives, which sees the company work with partners including Higgins Refrigeration, Visual ID and Domus Projects in delivering on their sustainability commitments.

Trevor Magill, Managing Director for Musgrave NI, said they were “delighted to partner with Oran to help him grow his business and develop the Centra portfolio”.

“We have worked with Oran under the Mace brand for several years and are delighted to continue our partnership as he opens his first Centra store which is a fantastic addition to both the local area and the wider Centra network,” said Trevor Magill.

“The store will be a real asset to those travelling the busy commuter route from the north coast – delivering first-class convenience along with great value for shoppers. Centra Frosses Road is a fantastic addition to our store network and I wish Oran and his team all the very best.

“At Musgrave, we are ambitiously focused on growing our store network and continuing to innovate to provide our shoppers with what matters to them – not just excellent customer service and value for money but an extensive range of quality products with an emphasis on local alongside new technologies for a seamless shopping experience,” added Trevor Magill.“We look forward to continuing to develop our SuperValu, Centra and Mace stores and ensuring we offer customers a world-class shopping experience.”

Already this year, Lusty’s Centra Townparks on the Glenarm Road in Larne recently opened its doors and is undergoing a refurbishment while the next few months will see store openings in Armagh, Portadown and Magherafelt.

Significant refreshes are also planned for SuperValu stores in Dungiven, Derry~Londonderry, Lurgan and Newtownbutler, as well as Centra stores in Maguiresbridge, York Road Belfast, Antrim and Carrickfergus. Revamps of SuperValu stores in Downpatrick, Fintona and Irvinestown, and Centra stores in Annaclone, Bushmills, Draperstown and Tobermore have already been completed providing more inspiration and ideas for shoppers with a focus on quality across fresh produce, meat, and food-to-go.

The investment in the store network is further supported by a £14 million investment in local produce with the launch of a new brand, Good Food Locally Sourced, announced earlier this year. In addition, the retail group committed £6 million in its value offering with shoppers benefiting from over 200 special offer items every week, competitive Epic Deals on four big brand products every three weeks alongside over 700 own brand products which are up to 40% cheaper than the better-known brands.

TO READ THE FULL CENTRA FROSSES ROAD FEATURE IN THE AUGUST ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER, CLICK HERE

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Packed with exclusive interviews and exciting NPD for the months ahead – this is an issue you don’t want to miss!

NR examines the changing face of shopping centres across the province – from retail destinations to family entertainment hubs. Shopping Centre NI Chair, Jamie Bill discusses the challenges and headwinds faced by centres here and how focusing on the customer’s experience is key to the next stage of this important retail sector.

In an exclusive store profile, Philip Woods from Fruitfield Foodhall in Richhill chats to NR about the investment in their fourth store and the importance of supporting the local community.

Elsewhere, NR takes a look inside the brand-new Centra Frosses Road store; discovers the latest NPD in Tobacco and Vaping, as well as all the latest news and information affecting the grocery industry.

READ THESE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES AND MUCH MORE IN THE AUGUST ISSUE HERE

The post The only magazine for NI’s grocery industry – Neighbourhood Retailer’s latest issue is out now! first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.