A sneak peak inside the new Waitrose

This afternoon I went along to take a look inside the newly extended Waitrose, where the final touches are being made ahead of its opening at 7am on Thursday 12th June.

When the branch re-opens, the sales floor will be more than double the size of the Little Waitrose and will provide local residents with the latest Waitrose offer.

As you enter the store there is a self-service coffee machine for My Waitrose cardholders and a customer service desk where a dry cleaning and flower wrapping service will be available. Customers will also have access to iPads for ordering Waitrose entertainment foods.

You are then greeted with the 'eat in' area which is an evolving concept for Waitrose and currently only available in five of their stores.

Branch manager, Gareth Hind described the offer as "bridging the gap between grazing and hospitality", where customers can purchase coffee, pastries, made in branch baguettes, cupcakes and afternoon tea. All of which can be consumed either in the internal seating area or outside where there will be an alfresco section providing seating for 20 covers - with Waitrose branded hoarding and canopies due to arrive towards the end of the week.

Alongside the 'eat in' area there is a bakery service counter and Artisan bread counter followed by the wine department which offers a much more extensive range than previously stocked and includes a chilled counter and tasting table.

The new offering includes an up weighted section of pre-packed meats and fish but, unlike the Wilmslow store, there is no meat or fish counter.

The sales floor has increased from 4000 sq ft to 11,800 sq ft and the store is much more spacious with wide and uncluttered aisles. In total nearly 2,500 extra lines have been brought in, including a selection of local produce.

At the far end of the store there are customer toilets, with baby changing facilities, and the check-out area where there are 4 kiosk tills and 4 belted tills, but no self-service ones, and an ATM.

The new store will also double its Community Matters contributions from £6,000 per year, to £12,000, and increase the amount of Partner Volunteering hours to local projects and causes from 100 to 250 hours per month.

The new store will be unveiled by representatives from the first local causes chosen to benefit from the Community Matters scheme - Alderley Edge Primary School, the Wilmslow Animal Sanctuary, and the Alderley Edge Royal Voluntary Service. They will all join opening branch manager Gareth Hind and his new team in welcoming the branch's first customers.

Janet Colter from the Wilmslow Animal Santuary said: "We are so excited to be part of the Waitrose Community Matters scheme at Alderley Edge. We are a self-funding organisation and the money we will receive will make such a huge difference. We have so many animals and pets that come to us with terrible injuries, stress and trauma, and with the money we will receive, these animals can be given a much better start to their lives."

At the end of the month, £1,000 will be divided between the three groups according to the number of tokens received from customers. Customers can continue to nominate different charities each month.

Waitrose Alderley Edge will be run by a team of over 100 Partners in total, including the former Waitrose and Co-op employees, and 45 new members of staff.

Gareth Hind, who previously managed a Waitrose store on Anglesey, commented "Waitrose has already forged strong links with the local community in Alderley Edge and with the extension of the existing branch, we will be able to contribute even more to local groups and charities.

"The new and improved branch will provide our customers with more choice and has enabled us to create a further 45 jobs. We have a great team in place and 95% of our Partners live within ten miles of the branch.

"We apologise for the short term inconvenience to the town while works took place, however the scheme represents a huge investment into the local area and we hope that the enhanced offer will attract even more people to the town."

The opening hours for the new enlarged store remain the same: 7am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays, with half an hour browsing time beforehand.

Gareth confirmed the arrangements for deliveries, a large wagon will deliver at 6am each day followed by smaller wagons between 8 and 9pm when the car park is busier.

See above for a selection of photos, bearing in mind that the finishing touches are still being put in place.

Updated: 13th June. Following the opening of the store I have added a few additional photos including:

First customers: Gareth Hind (Branch Manager), Maria Stafrin, Maja Stafrin-Jones, Nicola Buckley, Clare Johnson (Waitrose).

Ribbon cutting: Paul Holmer (Wilmslow Animal Rescue), Anne Bale (Luncheon Club), Gareth Hind (Branch Manager), Chris Perry (Headmaster Alderley Edge Primary School).

Tags:
Waitrose
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Dave Clarke
Tuesday 10th June 2014 at 1:36 pm
Hoorah
Sarah Lane
Tuesday 10th June 2014 at 3:46 pm
It's all looking good. Looking forward to it opening.
Sarah Lane
Thursday 12th June 2014 at 3:46 pm
At least now you can do some proper shopping instead of half a shop.

Very impressed with the store.
susan burtenshaw
Friday 13th June 2014 at 9:07 pm
I can not believe we have such a large super market in such a small village.
Lots and lots going on with the parking issue in the village, can somebody explain why Waitrose when granted planning permission for there super store "only one of five in the country" why they have got away with this without supplying extra parking facilities.
Waitrose as an aggressive trader in a small village I await your input in solving the parking problems in this area. Small green buttons well there not that exciting are they ???
Yes your giving a minor bit of support to local charities and I am sure they are grateful however lets see you really care about this little community.
I challenge you to sign the petition to save our allotments .
I await your response
Best Regards
Carol-Ann Turner

BTW It doesn't sit well when your staff park around Redesmere and Windermere Drive in there uniforms and strut to work with an attitude wearing
Waitrose uniforms . so they can avoid paying parking charges . Sad you can't even support your probably low paid workers.
Sarah Lane
Saturday 14th June 2014 at 4:19 pm
I am sure the staff don't 'strut to work with an attitude'

Such a shame the staff need a bashing for just earning a living.

I thought the parade car park was privately owned anyway. Why not bash every single shop/business that needs customers for not providing at least a few parking spaces. Very unfair on Waitrose to expect them to conjure parking out of thin air.
David Hadfield
Saturday 14th June 2014 at 5:21 pm
We should be grateful a store so prestigious as Waitrose decided to come to Alderley Edge in the first place, and then to have the common sense to increase their store by taking over the Co-op store next door to them ............. what is the alternative ?
Would you prefer an Asda store to come here ?
If you remember, there was even a Kwiksave store here some 15 / 20 years ago.
The quality of the food and all other items sold at Waitrose is amongst the finest in the UK.
That's why they are so successful ............ if unsuccessful, they'd have left the village by now.
............ and you may also be aware that their staff are not lowly-paid shop staff.
They become "Partners" within the John Lewis Group and also receive a decent annual bonus.
By the way, I have no association with Waitrose whatsoever, but I admire their business and that's why I have posted this comment.
Incidentally, this new store is one of the smallest "full-size" Waitrose stores in the country.
Kirsteen Peel
Thursday 19th June 2014 at 7:52 am
I was very impressed with the store when I went in for the first time this week. Good range of stock, pleasant atmosphere (much lighter and brighter than the Wilmslow store) and I have always found the idea that Waitrose is expensive to be a myth - good quality yes but reasonably priced if you shop carefully.

The opening of this store is a boon for me personally and, I think, for the village.

I also enjoyed sitting down with my free coffee which is available for everyone who has a Waitrose loyalty card (which also offers discounts and special offers to card-holders).
Amy Broome
Tuesday 8th July 2014 at 8:10 am
i only commented to say to susan burtenshaw, the staff at Waitrose have deliberately been told NOT to park in the car park due to how busy it can get, making it easier for customers, also the car park is a short stay car park so unless the staff were running out of the shop every 2 hours to top up their ticket, then no staff are gonna want to park there.

all in all i love the new store its fancy :)