East of England Co-op, which has over 120 food stores across Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex, opened its first Cambridgeshire Food store in Waterbeach on 17 August.
Society president Frank Moxon and vice-president Joy Burnford were there to welcome the co-op’s first Cambridgeshire customers as the store opened.
CEO Doug Field said: “We’re delighted to have opened our first Cambridgeshire store in Waterbeach.
“This is an exciting moment for us as a business; we’re embarking on an ambitious plan to grow our co-op and the opening of our first ever Cambridgeshire food store marks an important milestone in this expansion.”
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To celebrate the opening of the new 3,000 square foot village store, the first 50 customers picked up a free breakfast showcasing some of the store’s facilities: a hot drink from the Costa Coffee machine or a fresh orange juice from iSqueeze and food from the in-store bakery.
Other facilities include hot and cold food to go and parcel services through DPD and In-Post.
Waterbeach resident Clare McDonald said: “The East of England Co-op is so welcome to Waterbeach, we do have local stores but actually this is by far the best offering that we could have, we’ve needed this kind of store for a long time.”
East of England, a 150-year-old independent retail society, opens a second store in the county later this year, at the new One Cambridge Square development near Cambridge North station.