Local hero West Belfast Iceland manager recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

West Belfast Iceland store manager Daniel Burke has been named as a Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for his outstanding service to the retail industry over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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He was recognised by the Queen in her recent Birthday Honours list for having kickstarted the supermarket’s ‘silver hours’ initiative.

Daniel was among the first to open the West Belfast store an hour early on Wednesdays, allowing elderly shoppers to buy their food and stay safe from the panic buying craze at the start of the national lockdown.

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He took the initiative to open his store at 7am rather than the usual 8am time without encouragement or instruction from the supermarket itself. The move was a remarkable catalyst which saw all Iceland stores across the UK adopting elderly shopper-only hours. This was then replicated across competitor supermarket stores nationwide.

West Belfast Iceland store manager Daniel BurkeWest Belfast Iceland store manager Daniel Burke
West Belfast Iceland store manager Daniel Burke

Iceland Managing Director Richard Walker, said: “We have seen many heroic acts from our colleagues serving their communities throughout the pandemic but it’s fantastic to hear of our incredible store manager has now received this honour. He is a credit to the business and we are thankful for the service to the local communities and to the company. Daniel has pioneered an initiative that helped Iceland protect its most vulnerable shoppers and his recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List is thoroughly deserved.”

Daniel added: “I feel quite shocked about the whole thing, but very grateful. I have worked with some fantastic teams who have done amazing things to help support their local communities. It’s great for us to be in a position to be able to help, especially over the last 18 months when it has been needed the most. I certainly couldn’t have done it without the endless support from my family and my incredible colleagues.”

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