WORCESTER’S new Waitrose officially opened its doors on Thursday (June 30).
The London Road branch is one of the retailer’s largest in the UK and created 130 jobs which more than 1,300 Worcester residents applied for.
For the opening MP Robin Walker was joined by branch manager Scott Whittaker and nine-year-old Isobel from Nunnery Wood Primary School who won a competition to design a shopping bag for the new store.
The Waitrose has a sushi bar, cafe, eat-in bakery, fresh meat and fish counters and a draft beer pump supplied by the Purity Brewing Company.
There is also a community room which is free for local groups and organisations to use.
Mr Whittaker, said: “We are really proud to be opening in Worcester, to have generated new employment opportunities for local people and to be adding to the investment the city continues to attract.
“Waitrose Worcester will be among our largest in the UK and a real flagship for our brand.
“A project of this scale on a site like this will always bring challenges.
“We realise it’s not been easy at times and we are grateful for people’s patience, especially our neighbours.”
