A THRONG of eager shoppers were seen outside Nelson Bay Woolworths on Wednesday morning inching closer to the doors as it neared the time the supermarket would officially open for business.
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At 8am the doors were unlocked, drawing “finally” remarks, and shoppers were greeted by staff carrying platters of deli meats, fruit and sweets from the store’s cafe.
As is customary with a grand opening there was a cake, which was cut by born and bred Nelson Bay woman Shirley Smith.
“I’ve lived here all 82 years of my life,” Ms White said.
“It’s been quite inconvenient without a supermarket in town.
“The little businesses have done well for us, but there’s nothing quite like a supermarket.”
The $20 million development, which saw the Donald Street Coles supermarket demolished to pave way for the larger and modern-looking Woolworths, was approved by Port Stephens Council in 2012.
Coles was closed in November 2014 and demolished during the Christmas holiday period.
Construction for Woolworths started in April 2015 with builders confident it would be completed by Christmas that year.
However, after a series of delays and setbacks, largely to do with adverse weather, builders aimed for an Easter 2016 opening.
The store was officially opened on Wednesday, April 6 following a VIP soft launch the night before.
One of the very first customers in the supermarket was Jacob White, 7.
“We got here at 7am thinking that’s when it opened,” Jacob’s mother, Marietta White, said.
“We patiently waited the hour until it opened.
“We’re very happy to be the first cab of the rank in getting into the store.”
The store covers 4000 square metres including back-of-house areas like offices, cool rooms and a lunch room.
There’s parking underneath and people can either take an elevator or escalator up from the basement.
Checkout options include express, self serve and the traditional “full-lane” service.
There is a cafe, which proved popular at Wednesday’s opening, and a dedicated fishing tackle section.
Store manager Darren Towill said he was excited the store was finally open.
“We’ve already received positive feedback from the community,” he said.
Group manager Tristan Dale added: “We’re happy to finally be able to serve this community”.
The store employs 155 people in total.
Mr Dale said about 100 of those employees were from the area.