All change in Rohais as Waitrose prepares

ISLANDERS will view a completely different Rohais supermarket when Waitrose opens its first Guernsey store on Thursday, according to Nigel Keen, its director of property and development.

The retail giant, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, bought the former Safeway store, as well as Checkers at Admiral Park, from Sandpiper in June.

Waitrose closed the Safeway store, as it was then, on Saturday 5 February, and has since carried out an extensive refurbishment of the property, which at times saw a workforce of more than 200 working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to get it ready for its opening as a Waitrose.

Mr Keen (pictured) said the refurbishment had gone well, but that did not mean there had not been challenges, particularly having to contend with a different supply chain for getting materials and equipment to the store rather than what would usually be the case with a refurbishment on the mainland.

• Read the full story in the Guernsey Press. See below for subscription details.