The patience of the local Wainuiomata community has paid off, with the eagerly-awaited, brand new Countdown store officially opening its doors this week.
The new 3,600m2 supermarket provides an extensive fresh offering, and a new in-store pharmacy, bakery, deli and cellar, all with a focus on providing the growing community convenient options, including more than 1,500 new products.
The store also has Countdown’s latest design and sustainability features such as LED lighting and transcritical refrigeration to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Matt Grainger, Countdown’s General Manager Property, said the team are delighted to finally be able to share the new store with Wainuiomata locals.
“This is a really significant milestone for the redevelopment of the Wainuiomata shopping centre, and the new Countdown has been quite a few years in the making so we’re really excited to now be able to share it with the community,” said Grainger.
“When we first purchased the shopping centre in 2017 we wanted to secure a long term future for Countdown, our team, and our customers, as well as contributing to the rejuvenation of the town centre.
“Wainuiomata is a community that continues to change and grow and it’s a privilege to be a part of such a big hearted town. Our business has a long history here and has been serving the local community since 1970. The opening marks an exciting start of the next chapter.
“In the next few weeks we’ll start on demolition of the old store, which will mean we can start working on the new, much larger car park for customers. Shortly after that, we will open the new road connecting Queen Street and The Strand.”
The store was opened this morning by MP for Hutt South, Ginny Andersen, and Mayor Campbell Barry, with mana whenua and food rescue partners, The Salvation Army and Kaibosh, also in attendance.
Countdown has donated $5,000 to both Wainuiomata Marae and Kokiri Marae, to mark the opening of the store and in recognition of the important role they play by providing health and social services to the community.
In 2017, Countdown purchased the Wainuiomata Shopping Mall with plans to redevelop the area and contribute to the long-term rejuvenation of the Wainuiomata town centre. The new Countdown supermarket is one part of this plan, and over the coming months a new car park and road will be completed, as well as retail shops that will start to take shape.
