Birmingham food store gets fresh new look with £175k makeover after proving a lifeline to community during pandemic

Posted by james brindle | Published: 05/04/2021

A community food store in Birmingham where colleagues have been going above and beyond to support locals during these uncertain times has been given a fresh new look following an investment of £175,000.

The Central England Co-op in Court Oak Road, Harborne has received a raft of updates to give it a fresher, lighter feel and to include a number of new ranges and features to boost its offering to the local community.

This follows the store’s colleagues working around the clock to ensure vulnerable people across the community have continued to have access to vital food and essentials through the Coronavirus pandemic.

The community food store has been undergoing a makeover in recent weeks with changes including:

• All new energy saving fridges
• An updated product range to better reflect customers’ requirements including an improved food to go section
• New features such as a brand-new Costa Coffee machine
• New internal signage and decoration including a refreshed kiosk

Store Manager Louise Dickens said: “It has been really exciting for the team to have had this investment and it has completely transformed the store and it feels brand new. It has been a really big boost for everyone, and it almost feels like a thank you after all of the hard work of the last year.

“We have had some really positive feedback from customers who have said how great the change is and how much they appreciate it which is lovely to hear and gives us all great pride in coming to work to serve the local community.”

The Court Oak Road Food Store is open every day Monday to Sunday 7am-10pm.

The store has a wide range of products from everyday necessities to something a little more special and also offers a cash machine, Collect Plus/Paypoint, Lottery and an instore bakery.

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its over 7,800 colleagues serve customers across 400 plus trading sites in 16 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all.

It actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers and works with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, generating enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.

The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter, while it is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.  

It invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities through its Community Dividend Fund scheme which has seen over £175,000 shared out between 116 good causes over the past 12 months.

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop