SPAR independent retailer Oliver Blake is motoring ahead with plans to develop the family’s Oasis service station and secure its future position as a haven for customers.
The Blake family have had their forecourt site at Long Riston in the East Riding of Yorkshire since the 1950s, consistently evolving the business in that time.
A move to SPAR in 2019 in association with James Hall & Co. Ltd has accelerated progress with three expansions of the store in that time.
Recent developments in-store have seen James Hall & Co. Ltd’s Cheeky Coffee brand added in, delivering a better value coffee for customers.
Investment in two walk-in cold rooms has improved product availability through greater stock holding, and the store’s kitchen area is to be relocated and enlarged to further enhance Food To Go capacity.
An internal wall is also being removed to increase shop-floor freezer and grocery space.
Oliver, the third generation of the family business, has just renewed his agreement with SPAR which has happened at the same time as a switch of forecourt brand to JET.
The forecourt is now in JET branding, with JET Ultra 99-octane fuel available. Two EV chargers will be added soon alongside an extension of customer car parking space that will be completed this spring.
News of the ongoing works caught the attention of the ‘Services King’ Rich Cross, a service station enthusiast, who visited the Blakes’ site to meet Oliver and see the progression.
Oliver said: “It has been a brilliant start to 2025 with our SPAR renewal and the switch to JET on the forecourt. I was delighted to welcome Rich to Long Riston and share our family story and show him around.
“I am already very pleased with the Cheeky Coffee machine in terms of cups sold. Our customers are really taking to it and the brand gives flexibility on linking deals with Food To Go.
“The kitchen will help support our Food To Go ambitions when fully operational. More than that, the extra shopping area with more grocery and frozen food supports our aim of becoming a destination for bigger shops and more basket spend.
“Outside, the completion of the new customer car park is the wraparound support for all that capacity improvement work.
“Our two EV charge points delivering 350kva will be installed soon and they have battery back-up to boost charging when the grid is in demand, which I think is important to get customers back on the road quickly.”
Rich Cross said: “It has been a pleasure to visit to Long Riston to meet with Oliver whose passion for serving customers as a forecourt retailer is obvious.
“His understanding of what it means to be a community retailer is integral to the site’s growth, and his SPAR store and JET forecourt provide an excellent offer for both local customers and passing trade here in this corner of rural East Yorkshire.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
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