Residents in the Laira area of Plymouth got an extra Christmas present this year – the reopening of the Spar Gilletts store on Old Laira Road – now bigger and better than before.
The popular local store burnt down on Boxing Day 2023, after an accidental fire led to severe smoke damage across the building. Since then, the store has been nicknamed ‘the phoenix’ as team members and local shoppers anticipated what would rise from the ashes.
In fact, thirteen people worked at the Old Laira Road site and uring the closure and redevelopment, they were all deployed to either Pike Road Spar or Reservoir North Hill stores.
However, they are back after Spar wholesaler Appleby Westward invested £250,000 in rebuilding the store, with it reopening on Friday, 6 December. The company has extended making the store 45% bigger than before, by using the unit next door to the shop, which was empty but had previously been a salon.
Some of the extra capacity has been used to double the space given to promotions and seasonal products but the biggest change is the space allocated to grocery lines, with this tripling in size to ensure shoppers can get everything they need at Old Laira Road. There is also more space for fresh food and for chilled beer, cider and wine.
Store manager, Gary Hawes, said: “The ‘phoenix’ has risen, and it’s truly a big moment for us. It’s so exciting to have the store back open again. Not only that, but a huge investment means it’s even bigger and better than before. I’m sure our customers will be delighted with the improvements that have been made and our store team are thrilled to be back serving the community.”
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