FAMILY-owned forecourt and convenience retailer Maxol has opened the doors to its new Edenderry service station on Belfast's Crumlin Road following an extensive re-development.
Operated under licence by well-known local couple John & Sharon Bailey, it is part of a £2.4 million investment which has created five additional jobs.
And as well as featuring a brand new Spar store with Delish hot food to go concept, the facility features a brand new 150kw EV charge point that services two vehicles at any one time.
Meanwhile the final Henderson Retail store build of 2022 has completed and has officially reopened in Ballymoney.
The old site at Route service station was completely demolished before an 11 week rebuild of the new site, which has doubled in size, now standing at almost 6,000 sq ft with a 58-space car park and a four-pump Maxol forecourt.
In the newly modernised and expanded Edenderry store, customers can enjoy the benefits of a brand-new Spar which is 70 per cent larger than the former premises (the grocery offer alone has more than doubled in size to include a larger dairy and chilled range).
The new EV charge point is powered with renewable energy. Maxol’s Premium Fuel range has also been introduced to enable customers to make greener choices and car parking facilities have been increased from six to 27 spaces, giving more room to ease the flow of traffic on site, especially at peak times.
The new store sees the continued rollout of Maxol’s sustainable forecourt design. From concept and construction through to the site’s ongoing operations, Maxol has worked with Henderson Group to instal cutting-edge technology to help Maxol Edenderry reduce its existing carbon footprint.
These measures include the use of low-energy Co2 refrigeration; installing LED lighting systems; heat recovery from refrigeration for use in the Delish food to go deli, and “on demand” fan controllers to reduce energy use.
Brian Donaldson, Maxol Group chief executive, said: “It's exciting to see the complete transformation of our site at Edenderry, across the forecourt and in-store.
“Customers can now shop locally for all their daily needs in a modern, vibrant, sustainable and welcoming environment, and on the forecourt we've introduced Premium Fuels, Pay at Pump technology and added a new ultra-rapid 150 kW EV charge point.
“The development demonstrates our continued commitment to invest in the right infrastructure across our service station network to move Maxol to a more convenience led destination that services the community.”
Patrick Doody, sales and marketing director at Henderson Group, which owns the Spar brand in Northern Ireland, added: “This is an impressive redevelopment which brings everything local shoppers need for now and for later, right on their doorsteps.
“We've worked alongside Maxol and its local management team to develop a store which complements the recent redevelopments in the area, bringing fresh Spar brand and locally sourced fresh foods, Henderson’s exclusive Delish food to go concept, plus Barista Bar coffee and a premium forecourt offering to the local community.”
