‘We are very proud to open our store under the Centra brand’: Woolsey family's community shop, serving Portadown since 1961, reopens after £1.3m refit
The store and Post Office has been serving the village and surrounding area for over six decades and is a much-valued amenity for the community
Following a £1.3m investment, the Scotch Street store and petrol station on Moy Road, Portadown, has been totally transformed with an extension and refurbishment, and officially opened under the Centra brand.
The store and Post Office which supports 25 jobs in the community, including 10 new positions, has been in the Woolsey family since it opened in 1961, serving the village and surrounding area. It is a much-valued amenity for the community and the significant investment has allowed for new and exciting additions.
To mark the occasion, the store team hosted a family fun day with face painters, balloon modellers, a visit from C&J rare breeds farm, popcorn and candy floss, a spin and win wheel, and a play bus, alongside exclusive offers for customers, while Centra’s charity partner Action Cancer hosted a raffle.
The Woolsey family was joined by Musgrave NI’s managing director Trevor Magill and retail sales director David Higgins to officially open the store.
Gordon Woolsey said: “We are very proud to open our store under the Centra brand. Thanks to a fantastic team effort, the store has undergone a complete transformation and that, combined with our enhanced offering and excellent value, is proving extremely popular with customers. We look forward to continuing to serve the community with a one-stop shop and the best in modern convenience retailing, for many years to come.”
The modern store offers a wide range of fresh and chilled foods plus a greater selection of meal solutions for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including food-to-go from an enhanced hot and cold deli counter. Morelli’s ice cream and milkshakes are also available from the new ice-cream counter.
Coffee lovers can enjoy a hot drink to-go at the 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 coffee brand’s digital loyalty app enabling customers to get a free coffee after earning ten digital stamps.
Musgrave’s Retail sales director David Higgins added: “Woolsey’s Centra in Scotch Street is a fantastic addition to the ever-growing Centra portfolio, and we wish the family all the best on their new journey. The recent renovation is already proving to be a real asset to the community, delivering improved convenience along with great value for local shoppers.”
In addition to an enhanced product range and as part of Centra’s commitment to value, shoppers will benefit from hundreds of best buys and savings of up to 40% on own brand products. That’s as well as a Supermarket Price Match on key everyday items with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, plus the Epic Deals promotion on four big brand products, which change every three weeks.
Centra is also committed to supporting local suppliers, with Musgrave NI spending more than £166m on local food and drink annually, working with more than 3,000 local farmers, over 240 local suppliers and stocking over 4,500 local products across its stores, including the new Good Food Locally Sourced range of meal solutions.
Refurbished with sustainability in mind, the store features digital screens, energy efficient LED lighting and an energy efficient refrigeration system, as Musgrave and its brands work to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.