Northern Ireland community store completes £400,000 refurbishment

Following an investment of £400,000, Centra Tobermore has completed its refurbishment with the opening of a new off licence.

The former Costcutter, owned by local businesswoman Clare Johnston, converted to the Centra brand last year, bringing significant changes to the store to create a more seamless and modern shopping environment.

The contemporary store offers a wide range of options and meal solutions for breakfast, lunch and dinner including a hot and cold deli counter, with freshly made sandwiches and salads. The new off-licence provides an extensive beers, wines, and spirits range with over 300 products, plus a zero-alcohol section.

Officially launching the new Centra store in Tobermore are owner Clare Johnston and Barry Holland, new business and acquisitions manager at Musgrave NI

Other ranges introduced to the store include a Frank and Honest Coffee dock which features 100% compostable coffee cups, plastic free coffee capsules and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee beans. Shoppers can also avail of the gourmet coffee brand’s digital loyalty app enabling customers to get a free coffee after earning ten digital stamps.

Centra Tobermore store owner, Clare Johnston, said: “We were delighted to convert to the Centra brand last year, providing our customers with an improved range at excellent value. The refurbishment offers a more modern shopping experience and we have developed our range further with the introduction of an off licence.

“Feedback from our shoppers has been extremely positive and we look forward to continuing to serve the local community with the best in modern convenience retailing for many years to come.”

To mark the opening of the store’s off licence, Barry Holland, new business and acquisitions manager at Musgrave NI, owner of the Centra brand, joined Clare. He explained: “Centra Tobermore is a fantastic addition to the ever-growing Centra portfolio and we wish Clare and her team all the best on their new journey.

“The recent renovation is proving to be a real asset to the community, delivering improved convenience along with great value for local shoppers. As part of our commitment to value, 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. That’s on top of our Epic Deals on four big brand products every three weeks.”

Centra is also committed to supporting local suppliers, with Musgrave NI spending more than £166m on local food and drink annually. Included in the enhanced selection of products is the brand’s new Good Food Locally Sourced range, comprising almost 150 products sourced from local suppliers.

Barry continued: “We work with more than 3,000 local farmers, partner with over 240 local suppliers and stock over 4,500 local products across our stores providing shoppers with the freshest produce and range of choice.”

Significant investment has been made in top-grade energy efficient refrigeration as Musgrave and its brands work to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2024.