Drakes Supermarket opens in Murray Bridge

Murray Bridge can support yet another supermarket, Drakes Supermarkets’ assistant general manager says.

JP Drake attended the opening of the group’s Murray Bridge store, in the former Woolworths spot at the Murray Bridge Green shopping centre on Monday.

He said the Drakes group believed it could offer a point of difference to Coles, Woolworths and Aldi: a focus on South Australian products, including a butchery stocked almost entirely with meat from local brand Thomas Farms.

“People talk about being local and supporting local,” Mr Drake said.

“That, to us, is showing how serious we are about it.”

“We’re not afraid to go head to head with Coles and Woolworths because our research says people want to support local.”

The store will focus on low-cost fruit and vegetables by buying in bulk and keeping produce with minor visual blemishes.

It will also feature quirks such as a “little kitchen” with ready-to-go breakfasts, lunches and dinners, including pizzas; a shopper-operated bread slicer; and a dedicated vegan section.

Customers filled the aisles from the moment a ribbon was cut at 7.30am, after finding their way through renovations which will soon give the shopping centre a new car park and an outdoor eating area.

Drakes will employ 92 people in Murray Bridge, and stock 22,000 product lines.

There are two Coles and two IGA supermarkets in the city, while Aldi and Woolworths have one each.

Five of those supermarkets have opened in the past decade.

Source: Murray Valley Standard. Published 15/04/2019