MORRISONS supermarket opened in Westbury on Monday 7th September, and has received a warm welcome from local shoppers.
The opening of the store has been hotly anticipated in the town, and on the day some customers arrived at 6.00am before the red ribbon was cut and Morrisons declared open at 9.00am.
Mayor cllr Sue Ezra, who helped cut the ribbon, along with store manager Paul Smith and checkout manager Jeanette Hume, said she was pleased the town centre had a supermarket again.
“I’m sure Morrisons will bring people into the town,” she said. “It’s good to see a supermarket open again, when Coopers closed it did have an effect [on the town]. People in Westbury need work, we do need businesses. I think this will be a positive thing.”
All 59 staff who previously worked for Coopers have been kept on by Morrisons, and 101 additional jobs have been created in the store.
David Jenkins, chairman of Westbury Chamber of Commerce also welcomed the addition of Morrisions to Westbury.
He said, “I think that this opening is a major step forward for the town. It will bring business to the town centre. People will come and shop here and then hopefully shop around the town helping other traders.
“I think that perhaps this is the start of seeing some positive things in the town that have been needed for some time. The post office coming back, at the Co-op, is very encouraging for the community and business which is the critical factor.”
The town centre had been without a supermarket since 30th April, when Coopers closed down.
The new store manager, Paul Smith, said a lot of hard work had gone into transforming the premises.
“You wouldn’t recognise it from before,” he said. “It’s gone very well so far, the public have been very supportive, as well as a lot of businesses in the town. I’m really looking forward to trading now and providing a service to the Westbury people.
“We’ve got the full market street concept in this store, which is key to the Morrisons brand. It’s all about value, freshness and good service.”
