Checkers launches state-of-the-art flagship in Constantia
Checkers opened the doors to its state-of-the-art 2,330 m² flagship supermarket at the new Constantia Emporium property development yesterday.
The opening of Checkers Constantia follows the launch of Checkers Hyper Sandton City in September 2019, which focused on creating dedicated destination areas to offer customers an artisanal market experience within a supermarket environment.
Similarly, the new Constantia store includes a host of unique offerings, including:
• Freshly-made artisanal breads and pastries and a sophisticated range of confectioneries and luxury cakes;
• A coffee bar with an artisanal coffee roaster and seated area;
• A temperature-controlled tasting room with wines from over 100 leading estates, more international wines than any other supermarket, authentic French champagne and the widest range of Italian prosecco;
• Famous Wild Pacific salmon caviar served at the sushi bar;
• Hand-stretched, stone-baked pizzas straight from the oven;
• A chocolatier bar with hand-crafted artisanal chocolates from My Sugar;
• An in-store Kauai with its popular salads, wraps and smoothies;
• A selection of meats and veggies prepared on an imported rodizio grill.
The store sources many of its products from local owner-run suppliers including Schoon bakery, Exotic Taste (pickles, achar and sauces), the Nut Man (yoghurt, caramel and vanilla cinnamon caramel cashew nuts), Soet Cakes and My Sugar.
Design enhancements include wider aisles and seamless floors that allow trolleys to move with limited noise. The store’s sustainability measures include energy-efficient lighting and 100% recyclable and compostable paper bags carrying the new standardised On-Pack Recycling Labels (OPRLs) recycling instructions, as per WWF-SA guidelines.
Checkers Constantia is also establishing an organic community food garden at the Constantia Primary School and has earmarked The Ark City of Refuge to collect surplus food from its store.
More than 140 new jobs were created with this store opening, and 98 of the total store complement of 186, are women. The store will be managed by seasoned branch manager Adrian Saunders, who joined the Shoprite Group in 2016 and has more than 30 years’ experience in retail.