MOUNT Gambier’s retail shake-up is continuing with Bakers Delight announcing it will relocate its James Street store to a site adjacent the ALDI and Coles developments.
Bakers Delight licensees Mark and Amanda Jensen will establish a new store in the former Radio Rentals building, which will be co-shared by She’s Apples Market.
Nearly $20m is being poured collectively into Coles and ALDI projects on the former Target and Fidler sites.
Speaking to The Border Watch yesterday at the Compton Street site, Mr Jensen said the move would usher in an exciting new chapter for his business.
Explaining they had been operating from James Street for 25 years, he said the decision by Coles to relocate was the catalyst for the decision.
“We know the retail food hub will move. Once ALDI and Coles get up and running, it is going to be a fantastic location for shopping,” Mr Jensen said.
“If we are not near where one of the major supermarkets are, then there was the possibility people would have forgotten about us.
“She’s Apples and ourselves see the situation the same way.”
Mr Jensen said an exciting aspect of the relocation was that both stores – Bakers Delight and She’s Apples – would be “interconnecting”.
“You will not have to go outside to walk from one store to the other. You will be able to walk through – it will be a great set-up.”
The new Bakers Delight store is expected to be completed and open for business by “early May next year”.
He said preliminary works to refurbish the former Radio Rentals site were already under way.
“Major works for our store will happen in March next year,” said Mr Jensen, who explained the new store would have a wider frontage and a slightly altered design.
Regarding the millions of dollars being poured into the former Fidler and Target store sites, he said this was generational investment flowing into the city.
“Coles and ALDI are spending big dollars there, the city is changing and moving – you have to move with it,” the business operator said.
“We are food retailers and we have to move where the food is going. So many people walk across from Coles to our shop – that is a lot of our foot traffic.”
While looking forward to the move, Mr Jensen said he was disappointed they were moving way from customers who regularly walked to their store.
“We feel really bad about that, but we have to move otherwise we could unfortunately lose so many customers by not moving. We do thank the customers around the James Street area.
“Coles had been there for 40 years – things are changing.”
She’s Apples announced in September it would relocate its store to the mothballed Radio Rentals site, which closed in April.
According to the business, the new store will be nearly double the size of its current location.
The ALDI warehouse, along with four shop spaces, is expected to be completed before Christmas.
The Coles development – which includes 10 speciality stores – is earmarked to be completed mid-next year.
Developers have yet to announce what retailers will move into these specialty shop spaces.
The future of the current She’s Apples site – along with the adjacent Coles Supermarket building – is not known.
