Aldi has today announced its plans to open a new store in Athenry, County Galway.
The new store will see Aldi investing €11 million in the construction of the new store, creating 25 new permanent jobs once the store opens, with up to 80 jobs supported during construction.
While full planning permission is already in place for the store, Aldi noted it has submitted a planning application today to Galway County Council to slightly amend the scheme to 'ensure that Athenry shoppers benefit from Aldi’s latest award-winning Project Fresh design.'
Commenting, Colin Breslin, Aldi Regional managing director said, “This is great news for shoppers in Athenry and the surrounding locality. We’re delighted to be bringing our award-winning range of groceries to the customers of Galway, including many locally sourced products.”
'Environmentally Friendly Store'
The new environmentally friendly store will be powered by 100% green electricity, with 10 bike parking spaces and four electric vehicle charging points outside the store, the discounter said.
There will be ample car parking available for customers also with 92 dedicated customer car parking spaces provided.
Aldi said that it aims to open the 1,170sqm store on Clarke Street in late 2022 on the former co-op site, which has been vacant for a number of years.
Medieval Town
In recognition of Athenry’s deep history as a medieval town and the medieval walls that still stand today, Aldi is incorporating natural stonework into the design of the new store.
Aldi has already conducted preliminary archaeological surveys on the site, which has shown potential archaeological activity in line with Athenry’s medieval history.
As part of Aldi’s responsible approach to constructing the new store, it will be undertaking further intensive archaeological investigations to see what historical wonders might lie beneath the soil.
“As part of the works, further archaeological investigation and excavations will be undertaken with the utmost care to ensure any historical items can be safely preserved,” Breslin added.
Aldi currently operates nine stores in Galway.
In 2020, Aldi sourced more than €42 million of locally produced food and drink from its Galway based suppliers.
2021 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news click here. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
