Family run store celebrates 40 years

Owned by sisters Joy Quinn and Ann Kennedy, the store has been a focal point of the local community since their late father Marshall Brown opened it in 1974.

They are now into the third generation of family working in the shop and they are hosting a special event on Saturday September 6 to celebrate their four decade milestone.

The popular village store, which employs 60 people locally, has recently undergone a major revamp, with a number of new facilities developed.These include a state-of-the-art café to seat 40 people, a new deli serve-over, a hot food serve-over – all foods are prepared in store and freshly made daily, Java fresh Barista coffee, new refrigeration thought-out the store, free WiFi for customers and public toilets.

This major new investment will add to the wide range of services the store already offers including a forecourt, home heating, ATM, off sales and a revamped hardware department. There is also a hairdressers, chip shop, caravan sales and a car wash on site.

Joint owners, Joy and Ann, said: “We can clearly remember the day 40 years ago when our mother and father proudly opened the shop in the heart of Ballinderry village.

“The business has moved on a great deal since then, but we are pleased to say our customers have remained loyal.

“We are delighted to be able to serve the local community with all of their convenience needs and we would like to thank them for their continued support with this special celebration event. It will also give a chance for new customers to come and experience our revamped store and enjoy all of the new 
facilities on offer.”

Regional Manager David Boyle said: “The Quinn/Kennedy family have reached a fantastic achievement of 40 years in business and I believe much of their success is due to keeping family at the heart of the business and their support of the local community.“That support has helped the store raise more than £30k for Action Cancer over the past ten years with customers getting involved in a variety of in-store fundraising events.

“The family has worked hard over the years to understand and deliver their customers’ needs and with this major investment, Centra Ballinderry now offers a one stop shop for customers, with coffee, food to go and a wide range of chilled and take home groceries – all providing good value for money.”

All customers are invited to Centra Ballinderry’s ‘Super Saturday’ event on Saturday 6th September from 12.00 am to 4pm where there will be family fun and kids entertainment, sampling and giveaways, one day only ‘crazy’ offers and competitions. MRPNI supports over 250 independent Centra, SuperValu and Mace retail stores in Northern Ireland, with a combined turnover in excess of £600 million. MRPNI is part of the Musgrave Group, the leading partner to more than 3,500 entrepreneurial retailers and food service professionals in the UK, Ireland and Spain.