Award-winning Canning’s SPAR Bellarena in Limavady celebrated an amazing milestone of 50 years serving their local community and are giving back with fundraisers in aid of Magilligan Playgroup and Altnagelvin Area Hospital Rapid Response Unit.  

The team has raised over £1,100 for the organisations, which are close to the hearts of both the team and the shoppers in the local area. 

The family run store was opened by George and Harry Canning in 1974, with just five employees, and now employs 15 people from the local area. The store remains a family-focused business to this day, managed by George’s daughter, Joanne and Harry’s son Eoin, alongside Maxine Tosh, who has been with the business since 1999. 

Joanne White, Store Manager said; “We are very much a community focused team, which our dads have instilled in us as we grew up helping them out with the village store, so we decided that we wanted to make our milestone anniversary about our community, and giving back to say ‘thank you’ for our neighbours’ loyalty and custom over the years. 

“As a rural store, our community relies so much on local groups and organisations, and the Altnagelvin Rapid Response Unit delivers vital services to our rural communities.  We’re delighted to support them as we celebrate an incredible 50 years in business with SPAR NI.” 

Over the past 50 years, the Canning brothers have made major investments in the store totaling over £600,000. Three significant refurbishments have been completed to bring even more services and products for their shoppers, including McKay’s Butchery counter, an instore Post Office, and an extended offering of local fresh produce.  

In 2019, the store was rebuilt to give it a modern feel and once again significantly expand their product offering for the local community. 

The team at the store has always been dedicated to the local organisations and charities that are important to their shoppers and staff and over the years they have fundraised for Marie Curie, Foyle Hospice and St Aidan’s GAC, to name but a few. 

To celebrate their milestone anniversary, the store had lots of special offers, spot prizes and an instore raffle with exciting prizes for shoppers, including 500 litres of home heating oil, a £100 voucher to spend instore and a £25 McKay meat voucher. On Saturday 28th September the store also held a party with tea, coffee, cake and treats to celebrate their anniversary with the local community.  

Eoin Canning added, “We’re so proud to be celebrating 50 years of the store. It was an honour to become store manager back in 2019 alongside my cousin Joanne, taking over from our dads and continuing the family legacy.  

“The store has always been central to our local community, both with our regular shoppers and the seasonal visitors to their caravans in the summer, so we enjoyed celebrating with our shoppers and showing our appreciation for their support over the past 50 years.  

“We were delighted to receive an award earlier in the year for Village Shop and Post Office at the 2024 Countryside Alliance Ireland Awards. The award is testament to our strong commitment to our community and how far the shop has come since opening 50 years ago, and even more fitting that we have won this award on our 50th anniversary. 

“We wish to thank our community for their ongoing support and look forward to many more successful years of our store.” 

Patrick Doody, Sales and Marketing Director at Henderson Group, which owns the SPAR franchise in Northern Ireland added; “We all send our congratulations to the Cannings on this fantastic business milestone. They have grown an award-winning family business that sits at the core of their community, providing everyday essentials and a hub for the local area and we wish them every success for many more years to come.” 

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