Plymouth SPAR celebrates grand reopening after fire

Residents in the Laira area of Plymouth got an extra Christmas present this year – the reopening of the SPAR Gilletts store on Old Laira Road – which is bigger and better than before.

The popular local store burnt down on Boxing Day 2023, after an accidental fire led to severe smoke damage across the building. Since then, the store has been nicknamed "the phoenix" as SPAR team members and local shoppers anticipated what would rise from the ashes.

Thirteen people worked at the Old Laira Road site. During the closure and redevelopment, they were all deployed to either Pike Road SPAR or Reservoir North Hill SPAR. However, they are back after SPAR wholesaler Appleby Westward invested £250,000 in rebuilding the store with it re-opening on Friday, December 6.

The company has extended the store, making it 45 per cent bigger than before, by using the unit next door to the shop, which was empty but had previously been a hairdressers.

Some of the extra capacity has been used to double the space given to promotions and seasonal products – to offer a larger range of great value products for customers.

The biggest change though is the space allocated to grocery lines, with this tripling in size to ensure shoppers can get everything they need at Old Laira Road.

There is also more space for fresh food and for chilled beer, cider and wine.

The hot food-to-go range has improved too – moving from the counter to a self-serve unit with a wider range for both breakfast and lunchtime. The new full hot food range includes breakfast baps, sausage rolls, pasties, burgers and hash browns. Customers will still be able to purchase from Costa Coffee.

The aim of the bigger, better store is to offer a significantly enhanced range of products for local customers, making the store a true hub in the community. Customers will be able to use SPAR Old Laira on a daily basis for breakfast, lunch and evening meal solutions as well as for all their previous services such as Lottery and Collect+ parcels.

“The ‘phoenix’ has risen, and it is truly a big moment for us," said store Manager Gary Hawes. "It’s so exciting to have the store back open again. Not only that, but a huge investment means it’s even bigger and better than before. I’m sure our customers will be delighted with the improvements that have been made and our store team are thrilled to be back serving the community.”

Charles Duthie, Head of Operations, from Appleby Westward added: “The fire was a big blow to the local community resulting in the closure of the store and staff having to transfer to other SPAR stores.

“It was important for us to acknowledge Old Laira’s place in the local community and invest in that community. Our team has worked really hard to give the neighbourhood a bigger, better SPAR store. We were fortunate in being able to acquire the unit next door to do just that.

“It’s great to have the original store team back in place and they are eager to get back to what they know – giving shoppers at Old Laira the best possible local shopping experience.

“Old Laira is a great store, run by brilliant staff, in a lovely residential community and its redevelopment means it is ready to serve that community for years to come.”