Final preparations are underway before the results of a £1.6 million transformation of a busy food store and filling station are revealed to customers.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Whaplode Food Store and Filling Station on Main Road has been given a major overhaul including the creation of a new, larger food outlet to replace the old kiosk on the site.
It has doubled the retail area, creating room for a much wider selection of food to go, fresh and chilled items, along with takeaway Costa Coffee and goods from producers in the Society’s Love Local range.
It’s also created roles for eight new colleagues who’ve been recruited to join the six existing members of the team. They’ll all be ready and waiting to help customers fill up their baskets and fuel tanks after the outlet’s official reopening due on Thursday 28th February.
Three local charities will each be presented with a donation of £500 to help mark the occasion.
Lincolnshire Co-op Regional Manager Amesh Davda said: “It’s been exciting for our team in Whaplode to see the site transformed brick by brick from the old kiosk to a bigger, brighter food store, plus an improved forecourt.
“They can’t wait to welcome all our customers back and show them its new look.”
The site closed in April 2018 to allow for demolition of the kiosk and construction of the new outlet, along with ground works and installation of a new canopy and fuel pumps. Colleagues at the site were relocated to other Lincolnshire Co-op outlets while this took place.
A post office combi-counter service was available before the outlet closed. This was where limited post office services were carried out on the same counter as food store transactions, with no separate post office area or secure till point.
After feedback from colleagues, reviewing the layout of the store and getting positive feedback about its nearby Holbeach Post Office, Lincolnshire Co-op gave notice in autumn 2018 on the combi-counter contract at Whaplode.
A number of other services will be available at Whaplode Food Store and Filling Station including Paypoint for bill payments, a free to use ATM and cashback at the tills. Lottery tickets and first-class stamps will also be sold, and the post box outside the store is being reinstated.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Store Development Manager Matt Wilkinson said: “It’s been a long programme of work and we know lots of people are keen to start using our Whaplode Food Store and Filling Station once again.
“We hope customers will like its new look and enjoy picking up food, from a snack on the go to tasty meals for later, from the wider selection on offer.”
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