A NEW retail convenience store will launch under the Welcome co-operative brand in Taunton tomorrow (Wednesday, April 21)

Free coffee will be available to all customers on the opening day.

The store, which opens from 7am to 10pm seven days a week, is in the former Bath Store premises on Belvedere Trading Estate, off Station Road, which had been vacant for almost two years.

The latest Welcome site, in partnership with Southern Co-op, follows a £300,000 investment in the county town.

It will be the fourth store run by owner and franchisee Dilan Patel, a former Taunton School student.

He has previously worked in partnership with Southern Co-op in London and worked on the refurbishment of his father's store in Staplegrove.

Dilan worked closely with Southern Co-op to create the ‘mission-led’ store layout, encouraging ‘meal-for-tonight’ purchases.

The team behind the new store has created a 3,000 sq ft modern convenience supermarket with a food-to-go area including Rollover hot dogs alongside grab-and-go sustainable and ethical Smokin’ Bean Coffee and ‘Sir Lush’ slush machines.

The opening of the store has created nine jobs in both full- and part-time roles, providing a boost for the local community.

Dilan and his team are committed to giving back to Taunton by looking at co-locating a post office within the new store as Dilan’s father is already sub postmaster of post offices in Staplegrove and Priorswood.

Dilan said: “Our focus has been to get the new store up and running as quickly as possible, ensuring we service the needs of our customers.

"The support we’ve already had from local people has been amazing.

"The addition of a Post Office inside our Taunton store, with parking available, will make it easier for working people to access services, and they will be able to pick up plenty of deals at the same time.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the finished store.

"It’s a fantastic working environment for staff and it’s great for customers.

"It’s been worth the investment and the hard work that’s gone into it and now hopefully we will see the rewards."

The store has taken every step to make its customers’ shopping experience Covid safe.

The team will be conducting frequent Covid safety checks, Covid audits and Covid risk assessments using a checklist built by experts.