Northern Ireland SPAR distributor, Hendersons has re-opened its extensively remodeled SPAR store at Mallusk in Country Antrim including the first ever drive-thru execution of its proprietary hot coffee brand Barista Bar. Located in a largely commercial zone, the new Mallusk store has a significant demand for food and drinks-to-go to meet the daily needs of the local working population and drive-t...

Meeting in person for the first time since 2019, the annual Blakemore Trade Partners trade show and conference at the Telford International Centre took the title ‘New World: New Opportunities’; flagging the changed realities of UK grocery retailing in the post-pandemic era. On the conference platform we heard from a line-up of speakers spanning independent SPAR retailers, AF Blakemore itself, SPA...

AF Blakemore, the SPAR distributor for the midland England and Wales, has opened its refurbished company-owned convenience store in the Welsh university town of Aberystwyth, which now features a new multi-brand takeaway food concept entitled ‘Eat Some …’ This comprises six hot food counters each serving menus based around complementary takeaway formats. All proprietary concepts developed and o...