Cornish retailer Gary Batten further expands recently launched store

Gary Batten, who recently opened his third store, has added an extensive food to go offer to complement a full grocery range.

Batten has two Nisa Local fascia stores in residential areas of St Austell in Cornwall and opened this third shop within walking distance from the beach and a string of holiday parks.

At less than 1,000 sq. ft, the shop has been completely refurbished and re-branded as a Nisa Local with a new range incorporated boasting six chillers of meal solutions such as ready meals and cook at home pizzas as well as fresh fruit and vegetables.

With the new stand-out offer, he expects to turn the store a destination shop for locals as well as tourists.

“I am waiting for the summer to kick off so we can test out the concept and half term with the extra bank holiday thrown in will be a tell-tale sign for us,” he said.

An annexe to the side of the main store area now houses a full range of food and drinks to go, offering shoppers everything from a sausage sandwich at breakfast, to pre-packed sandwiches for a light lunch, to freshly cooked pizza for take away and an ice cream counter for an all-day treat.

The full offer is now up and running in time for the May half term and the Platinum Jubilee extended bank holiday which Batten regards as the key indicator of if he’ll make or break it this season.

With weekly sales hitting around £16,000 in the initial weeks of trading, His research, however, suggests the store could become up to ten times busier at high season.

“It’s a small place but it is perfectly formed and with a few changes and tweaks along the way I think we can offer our local customers as well as the holidaymakers just what they need,” he said.