McCarthy’s EUROSPAR Kilkenny has been honoured at a prestigious industry award event, taking home the prize for Ireland’s Most Improved Store at this year’s Best in Fresh Awards held in The Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin.
Organised by industry magazine, Checkout, the Awards are held in association with Connacht Gold, Skoda Ireland, Donnelly Fresh Foods and Invest Northern Ireland and seek to reward, encourage and promote excellence in fresh food retailing in Ireland.
Open to multiples, symbols, independent stores, forecourts, delis and specialist outlets, EUROSPAR Kilkenny beat off competition from hundreds of retail stores around the country to take home one of the top overall awards.
Supermarket owner John McCarthy, said: “It is a great honour to have received this award, as it reflects the time, effort and investment in creating a new and improved fresh food offering for our customers which is best in class. As such, we are delighted to have been recognised amongst the best of our industry peers.”
Managing Director of BWG Foods (owners and operators of the SPAR brand in Ireland) Willie O’Byrne said: “It is always a delight and an honour when one of our stores receives a national award in recognition of the high standards we aspire to across the network. There is some very healthy competition in Irish retailing so to be named top of the bunch is a great coup for the store, its staff, its customers and our brand.”
EUROSPAR Kilkenny is owned and operated by John and Margaret McCarthy and their son James. The supermarket provides employment for 70 people locally and is open seven days a week – Monday to Friday (8am to 9pm), Saturday (8am to 8pm) and Sunday (9am to 6pm).
The store boasts a range of top quality in-store departments such as Russell & Ryan Butchery and an exclusive Insomnia coffee offering as well as extensive Fruit & Veg department. The supermarket was also the first EUROSPAR in the country to install Baker’s Tray – a bakery concept created especially for the brand and featuring an extensive range of freshly baked traditional and Mediterranean products. Only last year, the wholly Irish-owned store underwent a 5,000 sq feet extension and total re-vamp of the existing floor space.
