On Thursday, 28 November, the biggest Woolworths food market to date opened at Waterstone Village, Somerset West. With a truly comprehensive range of Woolworths own products including some exciting innovative ideas and more product categories, as well as more of South Africa’s favourite brands – the new Woolworths Waterstone is taking the Woolies shopping experience to a whole new level.

Featuring the best in contemporary retail design and greater shelf space, the store forms part of Woolworths strategy to grow footprint through its ‘supermarket with a difference’ concept. It boasts six times its original size and, with almost 2 500m² of space, is the largest Woolies food market ever.

One of the first things to notice is the much bigger fresh produce area. Here, surrounded by an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, the customer will experience the real feeling of an innovative, exciting and interactive fresh market that will awaken all five senses. A focus on seasonality will also be key.

Other interactive areas include Woolworths’ firsts, such as a coffee ‘bar’ in the coffee aisle, where customers will taste some of our estate and regional coffees – with the option of having beans ground to their specification – and an olive oil & balsamic vinegar tasting station for sampling our local and imported oils and vinegars. There will also be a ‘freshly squeezed’ station in the produce market for freshly squeezed-on-the-spot juices and smoothies.

Also on offer is a butchery where highly skilled butchers will debone, roll, stuff, marinate, spice, slice, cube, vacuum pack and advise on the best way to cook any cut so it comes out tender and tasty; and a fishmonger, where experts will cut, skin and fillet your choice, help you choose the fish that best suits your needs and advise on cooking methods. Being the ‘home of award winning cheeses’ the cheese counter is filled with an extensive range of local and imported award winning cheeses. An in-store bakery offering artisanal breads and pastries is another exciting feature of this store.

Customers will be spoiled for choice of takeaway food with counters for hot foods and ‘to go’ options filled with ready-to-go freshly made sandwiches, wraps and snacks. The new sushi bar staffed by expert sushi chefs is a must for lovers of this culinary delight. In addition to everyday options that include takeaways and a choice of options on the WCafé menu, stunning sushi platters can be ordered for home parties.

The WCafé will serve a wide choice of light meals and snacks prepared using fresh, seasonal produce, as well as coffee made from 100% Fairtrade-certified coffee beans and other beverages.

The store has 19 tills (including 5 express tills) and more managers and staff on duty throughout the store. There’s also a self-serviced Financial Services kiosk where customers can check details of their Store Card or Woolworths Credit Card accounts. Both the store and the WCafé are open from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm seven days a week, including public holidays.

In keeping with Woolworths Good Business Journey, the store also features a number of ‘green’ design elements, such as using natural light from skylights and a system that automatically dims the store’s lights in bright daylight conditions, recapturing waste heat from refrigeration for heating the store and using energy-efficient lighting, as well as fully automated lighting systems. The fridges in the store use a natural gas instead of synthetic gases. This doesn’t harm the ozone layer, and makes a much lower contribution to global warming.

 

Woolworths Waterstone Village,

Corner R44 and Main Road,

Somerset West;

Telephone (021) 850-7911.