A family-run convenience store in Townhill has been given a new lease of life, reopening its doors as a SPAR after a major revamp.
Local retailer Mandeep Sohal has transformed the shop in partnership with A F Blakemore, the UK’s largest independent SPAR wholesaler — and he was joined by family and staff to mark the occasion outside the newly branded store.
Gone is the old fit-out, replaced by a brighter layout reworked around how local people actually shop, with a noticeably bigger range of fresh, chilled and frozen food on the shelves.
The store has kept the things the community relies on, too. A Post Office counter still operates inside, and a bank of 24/7 parcel lockers sits out front for collections and returns at any hour.
It is the kind of independent shop that does a lot of quiet heavy lifting in a community like Townhill — the place you nip to for a pint of milk, a parcel and your pension, all in one stop.
Mr Sohal said the switch to SPAR had breathed new life into the business.
“The new look and improved offer have given the store a real lift,” he said.
“We’re proud to bring more choice, better value and a much stronger fresh range to the Townhill community, and we’re excited to welcome even more shoppers in.”
He said there was more to come, with the shop preparing to roll out Iceland frozen ranges — part of a wider tie-up that has seen SPAR stores across the UK begin stocking the supermarket’s popular own-brand lines.
A F Blakemore said the changeover had been handled without closing the doors on customers, with its team working alongside the store throughout the conversion.
The wholesaler supplies and supports hundreds of independent retailers across the country, all trading under the familiar green SPAR sign.
For Townhill, it means a long-standing local shop carrying on — just with a lot more on the shelves.
