SPAR Craigyhill in Larne marked 10 years of serving their local community with a fun day for their shoppers last month.

The store, owned and operated by Ronnie and Alyson Eynon alongside their children Alex and Emma, originally combined two long-standing local businesses, a grocer and a newsagent, which served the Craigyhill community for more than 50 years. Following a 14-week refurbishment project, the fully modernised store opened under the SPAR brand in May 2016.

Since opening, SPAR Craigyhill has become a central hub within the local community. In recognition of the loyalty and support of local shoppers, the Eynon family regularly provide exclusive offers designed to deliver value for money, while also supporting local fundraising initiatives, schools, sports teams and individual sponsorships.

The store has also helped raise funds for a number of charities including The Royal British Legion, Christian Aid, Macmillan Cancer Support, the British Heart Foundation and SPAR NI’s charity partner, Marie Curie.

Through fundraising efforts by the local community, an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is also installed outside the store. The lifesaving equipment is maintained by SPAR Craigyhill and is available for the community 24/7 even when the store is not open.

To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the store hosted a community fun day on 13 May for their shoppers, with a BBQ, face painting, spin to win competitions, food sampling and giveaways. Families also enjoyed special appearances from Bluey and Larne Football Club captain Tomas Cosgrove, with the recently won Gibson Cup on display.

In the lead up to the celebrations, the store also ran a cash call competition where spending £10 in store entered shoppers into the draw with the chance to win a 55” TV.

Ronnie Eynon commented, “We’re incredibly proud to be celebrating our 10-year anniversary. As a community focused store, it was important to us to celebrate alongside our shoppers, and we are proud to provide an essential local service while making a positive impact in the community. We would like to thank our fantastic store team and our loyal customers for their continued support over the years, and we look forward to many more years serving the community from SPAR Craigyhill.”

Richard Ash, Sales Director at Henderson Group which owns the SPAR brand in Northern Ireland, commented, “We wish to congratulate Ronnie, Alyson, Alex, Emma and the entire team at SPAR Craigyhill on reaching this significant milestone. They are such an integral part of their local community and it’s great to see them celebrating alongside their shoppers. We wish them every success for years to come.”

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