'Everyone was so excited for the grand opening': Bargain hunters queue before sunrise as new Northern Ireland supermarket opens
Early queues, big giveaways and major deals mark the opening of The Food Warehouse in Ballymena
A new Iceland Foods store has officially opened in Ballymena, drawing huge excitement from the local community.
The new The Food Warehouse, located at Braidwater Retail Park, welcomed its first customers this morning (Tuesday), with an impressive 77 people queuing ahead of opening time — some arriving as early as 4:30am. The launch has also brought a boost to the area, creating 23 new jobs locally.
To mark the occasion, the store gave away £1,500 worth of vouchers to the first 150 customers through the doors. Early shoppers were also entered into a raffle, with prizes including Tower Air Fryers and a Daewoo Double Drawer Air Fryer. Five lucky customers also won the chance to take part in a 90-second supermarket sweep-style trolley dash, filling their trolleys for free.
Lisa Henry, store manager at The Food Warehouse, Braidwater Retail Park, said: “We’re so pleased to welcome shoppers to our brand new The Food Warehouse store. Everyone was so excited for the grand opening – people started queuing from 4:30am!”
To celebrate the launch, a range of special offers will be available from until April 20. These include Pepsi Max 24 packs for £7, reduced from £12, Cushelle toilet tissue 32 packs for £12.50, McVitie’s family pack biscuits for £2, Surf detergent with 100 washes for £7.50, Thompson’s Punjana tea bags 440 packs for £7, White Rock water 18 packs for £3, and Cadbury multipack chocolate bars for £2.
Shoppers can also take advantage of multi-buy offers such as 5 for £5, 2 for £8, 3 for £10 and 10 for £10 deals, alongside popular ranges including Slimming World, Cathedral City and TGI Friday’s products.
Kristian Barrett, chief operating officer at Iceland Foods, added: “We’re thrilled to have opened our new Ballymena store, ensuring even more local residents can get their hands on amazing deals, alongside a brilliant range of frozen, grocery and fresh foods.”
The new store will operate from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, and from 1pm to 6pm on Sundays. Customers can access additional deals through the Iceland Bonus Club app.
Anyone interested in joining the team can apply via the Iceland careers website.