New Ballymoney Lidl Store 'extremely busy' on first morning of trading

THE MUCH anticipated new Ballymoney Lidl opened its doors this morning (March 12) and was doing brisk trade from the start with shoppers turning out in droves to see for themselves the new store.

Speaking mid morning, Store Manager Mr Richard Mailey told The Chronicle that he was “extremely happy” with how things were going.

As well he should be, with the aisles of the 1420 sq m store busy with people and the new 150 space car park running almost full all morning.

“We have been extremely busy and the relocation has gone down extremely well with the local community," he said,

“We have increased the number of tills from four to six and since 8am this morning all the check outs have been busy and we have put on additional staff to pack bags.

“The store is more accessible than the old store and customers I have spoken too say that there is a 'night and day' difference between the two.

“Our car parking spaces have increased from 96 to 150 and we are hoping to see an increase in our trade in Ballymoney.

“This is a big investment for us and shows our commitment to the town.”

Lidl donated £1000 to The Salvation Army on the morning and had Ballymoney High School pupils down to cut the ribbon.

One concern that had been raised by members of the public had been possible congestion leaving the new site, given that it is adjacent to the busiest junction in the town.

“Meetinghouse Street is busy anyway at certain times; leaving our store to turn left seems easy enough, turning right there is a bit of a wait, but hopefully it's not more than was so leaving Seymour Street from our old store.

“Fingers crossed it's not as bad as some had feared!”

Commenting more generally a Lidl spokesperson said: “The state of the art building incorporates a range of sustainability features including an ISO 50001 certified Energy Management System, 2 electric vehicle charger spaces and a solar panel system.
“A welcome feature of this modern new build is an expanded bakery section, one of Lidl's most popular ranges.
“A Lidl to Go coffee machine is also available giving customers the option of a wallet friendly hot beverage for only £1.
“The new building is bright and airy with a spacious interior layout, high ceilings and wide aisles creating a comfortable shopping experience for customers, when compared to the previous store.
"150 convenient car park spaces are provided on site, including reserved spaces for families and disabled shoppers.”