Ulster Grocer

Many retailers have prioritised their investment in food-to-go in order to respond to changing consumer eating habits. A move away from formal dining occasions towards more grab-and-go based eating has fuelled strong growth for quick service restaurants, and independent retailers, especially in the forecourt sector, have identified that, due to the high degree of crossover with these types of outlets in terms of location, shopper missions and product offer, they are well positioned to grab their share of the foodservice market.

One such successful operation is Leo Daly’s SuperValu Aughnacloy and, as a central part of our food-to-go feature, Ulster Grocer met up with store manager John McSorley to find out how they have developed this lucrative side of the business in, what to many, may be considered a rather remote location.

Leo Daly has been retailing in Aughnacloy for around 20 years. The current 8,000 sq. ft SuperValu supermarket was built on a new site six years ago and includes an in-store Post Office, Wine Cellar Off-Licence, serve-over butchery and extensive forecourt services. “The population of Aughnacloy is probably not much more than 2,000 people, but we also serve the surrounding rural community and, of course, we are situated on the main Derry to Dublin corridor, so have a very high volume of passing trade, with this a well-known stopping point for travellers,” said John.

CONTINUED GROWTH

“As part of our service, we have public toilets on the forecourt which the full-time store cleaner maintains to an extremely high standard. People know about that facility and it’s great to hear so much positive feedback from customers who comment on their cleanliness – we’re often told there are no better public toilet facilities from Donegal to Dublin and that is one reason so many people break their journey here.
“When the new store was built six years ago, we decided to include a food-to-go offering to maximise the potential of the high volume of passing trade the business enjoys, as well as providing our local customers with a new service. Initially, we kept it small, but we knew it had potential and that has been borne out by the continued growth of the department ever since,” continued John.

“The department now consists of a 12-foot hot food counter, a separate sandwich bar, six-foot cold deli meat serve-over (all meat is sliced from a whole roast) and six-foot salad counter, all supported by an extensive selection of bake-off breads and pastries, as well as a bean-to-cup coffee and hot beverages machine. We also have grab-and-go pre-pack sandwich, salad and cold drinks chiller just inside the entrance.

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