Central England Co-op reveals first look at new Lincs store ahead of launch


Central England Co-op (CEC) can today give a first look at the progress of its brand new community store opening in a Lincolnshire village next week.

The Society will officially open its new store in Church Street, Donington on Friday, 8 July, with confirmed features including self-checkouts, a customer car park, free water refills, hot food to go, a customer toilet and a free bicycle repair station.

It will offer fresh fruit and vegetables, an in-store bakery offering breads and pastries, chilled beers and wines, fresh and frozen product, Irresistible and Fairtrade product ranges, as well as a great selection of food-to-go, including hot food.

The site is well-known in the village and its history has included being run as a family agricultural engineering business and latterly a tractor dealership. It’s now being transformed into a modern and sustainable food store for the local community.

Local schoolchildren have been invited to cut the ribbon on the new store, while there will also be a range of opening offers including the opportunity to pick up a free hot drink from the store’s Insomnia Fairtrade Coffee Machine on launch day.

The store’s frontage is almost complete and special eco-friendly fridges and lighting have started to be installed to back up the retailer’s eco-friendly ethos, while the kiosk area is in place ready to welcome locals and a feature map of Donington has been incorporated in the design.

Store Manager Paul Brown said, 'We can’t wait to open the doors to the local community. Our new store team are ready and raring to go for launch day and are looking forward to building relationships with our new customers and members and being there for them with vital food and essentials on their doorstep.”

The new food store will be open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.