TAVISTOCK Carnival Queen last week cut the ribbon to declare open a town centre supermarket, newly refurbished to the tune of £1-million. Thanks to the transformation at Somerfield in Brook Street, at least 15 new jobs have been brought to the town, boosting the staff total to 85. Alan Feakins, manager of the new ?Market Fresh? store, said he was delighted 11-year-old Charlotte Rice and her attendant, Emily May, were able to perform the official re-opening of Somerfield during the town?s carnival week. Mr Feakins said: ?At the end of the day, we want to try and be involved in the community and help it. If there?s charity fundraising to be done, we do it. We?ve been raising money during carnival week to support Tavistock Lions and the staff have entered the parade too. ? We are a local shop, we?re all local people and it?s nice to be involved and have some fun.? Somerfield?s refurbishment has taken several weeks to complete and features a new delicatessen with rotisserie, a much larger bakery, a wine chiller, freshly ground coffee service and a home entertainment department. There are also four new high-tech U-scan self-service checkouts which allow customers to scan and pay for their own purchases. The shopping hours have also been extended by an hour in the evening, the store closing at 9pm. Mr Feakins said: ?We?re really excited about our new Market Fresh store. It will offer customers something a bit different to a conventional supermarket.? Somerfield was named Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year 2005 ? the Tavistock store is one of 100 being refurbished nationally in the coming year.
