The shelves were neatly stacked and staff all brought up to speed as Queenstown’s newest supermarket finally opened its doors. The PAK’nSAVE store on the Frankton Flats was officially opened by the district’s new Mayor, Jim Boult, on 3 November.
For the store owners, Michelle and Anthony King, the opening is the culmination of years of planning and many months of construction. And like any good celebration there was food and lots of it – enough to fill the new supermarket’s massive 5,765 square metres of floor space. The Hellers food truck was there to serve up hot breakfast and Richard Emerson talked about his award-winning craft beers.
“Our overriding offer is New Zealand’s lowest food prices,” says King. “This is Queenstown’s first food warehouse and shoppers will love the savings and the size. Our aisles are wider, and our range of products is too, but most importantly we’re going to be helping locals get their grocery bills down by offering the best value in town.”
Given such offerings, and the fact the next PAK’nSAVE is two hours away, they’re expecting shoppers from as far afield as Wanaka, Alexandra and Roxburgh, maybe even Gore.
“Shoppers will also find an array of local delicacies: Central Otago wines, artisan cheeses, and the ever-popular Remarkable Tortillas made daily right here in Queenstown. And knowing we’ll be serving visitors from overseas means we’re especially committed to ensuring our store looks great, the food’s top notch, and our staff are extra friendly,” says King.
Roger Davidson, GM Property and Retail Development, Foodstuffs South Island, says the opening means there are a now a dozen PAK’nSAVE stores in the South Island. “Only recently PAK’nSAVE was once again found to have the country’s cheapest supermarket shopping, and it’s great we can now offer that to the people of Queenstown,” says Davidson.
