Sainsbury’s has opened the doors to its largest supermarket in Northern Ireland and one of the biggest it has opened in the UK in the last ten years.
The new 69,000ft sq store is situated in the Kennedy Centre in west Belfast at the site of the former Curley’s supermarket .
The store opening comes as a welcome boost to employment in the area, with Sainsburys creating over 100 new jobs and retaining around 250 former Curley’s staff.
David Davidson, Sainsbury’s regional operations manager, commented: “This is a landmark day for Sainsbury’s and for west Belfast .”
“Since announcing our plans we have had a great response from the local community and we have listened to what they want from a local supermarket .”
“We are delighted at this difficult economic time to be able to offer employment to more than 350 people in a range of jobs from management level and check-out assistants to skilled butchers and counter staff.”
Sainsbury’s said the new branch is committed to sustaining sourcing of local produce, with over 100 Northern Ireland suppliers’ products on the shelves.
Store manager Sean Largey said: “I come from the local area and therefore it is a proud moment for me to see my employer showing real commitment to west Belfast by opening the biggest Sainsburys supermarket in Northern Ireland here.”
