By Carmel Robinson
Copyright northernirelandworld
This massive investment in the Carn area was the dream of brothers Peter and Andrew Wilson backed by their father Eamon. – – With 30 years of experience behind him at his Garvaghy Road store, it was Eamon who backed the boys whey they spotted a gap in the market at Carn – an industrial area with very few nearby shops. And so the plan to build a new supermarket and filling station was born – though it take take a significant investment and lots of time. Peter reveals they were looking for a site to build on for a number of years. “We saw a gap in the market in Carn and we went looking for a site five years ago. “That’s how long it took to get here. There was a lot of planning and sleepless nights but it was good to get the doors open today and I was buzzing to see the reaction of people as they came into the shop,” said Peter. He revealed they opened the doors at 6am and at 6.05am there was a queue at the deli. “This is exactly what we wanted to see. There’ve been people in high-vis vests, people in from offices – all sorts of people and it’s great to see everyone in and the feedback has been really positive,” he said. ”It’s great to see everyone loving the store as much as we hoped they would,” said Peter. He admitted it was a ‘bit scary’ taking on a £4m investment. “We decided to make the jump,” he said. And judging by the numbers of people flocking to the store already, it was a great decision. And they have created 50 new jobs. Peter revealed the staff all spent around 6 weeks at their other store for training ahead of today’s official opening. “Of the 50 team members, everyone has stuck it and has been brilliant so far. We feel like they are part of the family already,” he said. Plus they are running some super offers including any size tea or coffee and a 5-piece fry for £3. They are also running a few special offers in the Off Licence including Buckfast at £7.95 for a large bottle. 12 packs of Carlsberg for £7 and certain Yellow Tail wines are going for 2 for £13 and much more. The filling station was all a key part of the plan for the Wilson brothers who knew it was key to adding a service for all the lorry firms in the Carn area and for those delivering to the many businesses in Carn Industrial Estate and nearby. “We decided to put a large HGV pump. It’s going to be running 24 hours and it’s going to be fast flow fuelling,” said Peter. “We also have 24 hour fuel at the other pumps as well,” he revealed adding there will be diesel, petrol, kerosene, super unleaded and red diesel for the farmers
