It is an exciting week for the town of Headford as the new-look Joyce’s Supermarket opens its doors for the first time tomorrow at 11am.
The modern superstore is the newest venture by Pat Joyce and his family, built on the original site of the first Joyce’s store, established by his father Paddy Joyce in Headford in 1951.
Pat Joyce has been in the grocery business for more than 35 years, starting out with the first Joyce’s Supermarket in Headford. Since then, the Joyce family name has maintained a strong association with the retail industry in Galway, branching out across the city and county with supermarkets opening in Knocknacarra in 1999, Athenry in 2005, and Tuam in 2010.
The family aspect of the business is extremely important according to Pat Joyce, and in keeping with the family tradition the third generation of the family name has recently become more involved in the company.
Pat’s daughter Aisling Joyce manages the Knocknacarra branch of the business, while the new Headford store will be managed by his son Patrick Joyce. Pat’s other son David is currently studying in NUI Galway while his younger daughter Elizabeth is sitting her Leaving Certificate examinations this year. Pat would like to thank his wife Breda Joyce who has also worked in the business and has been a great advisor to him over the years and throughout the expansion of the company.
The planning for the new supermarket in Headford began in 2003 and a lot of work has gone into ensuring that there are plenty of exciting and fresh ideas on offer in store to cater for the needs of all its loyal customers as well as putting Headford on the map as a shopping destination for the area.
Among these new plans which are to be unveiled tomorrow is a traditional full scratch bakery, the only one of its kind in the area and therefore an important resource for the local community. This will include a comprehensive range of bread, pastries, and other baked goods, all made in store.
The supermarket will provide a larger off licence, a bigger range of health foods catering for all dietary needs, and carvery meals including self-service pizzas. There will also be a hot food counter with a new kitchen, a new fish counter, a deli featuring a variety of savoury foods, and a coffee and tea station.
One of the key concepts of the store is transparency in terms of its fresh food and cooked food counters. The store and its kitchens are open plan, with customers able to see the meat hanging in the freezers, the chicken cooking right in front of their eyes, and the bread baking in the ovens.
All fresh food and meat is locally sourced and fully traceable from farm to fork, with all local suppliers from the Galway and Mayo region meaning that the products on offer are guaranteed Irish.
The supermarket has been split into two sections, the convenience shopping section looking out on to the Galway Road, and the supermarket section to the rear with free parking, and more than 250 spaces available at the back of the store. The Joyce’s forecourt has also been developed into a Joyce’s Fuel station, the second of its kind since the opening of a station in Athenry two months ago.
The new supermarket will provide a massive boost to the local Headford community. More than 70 locally-based people were employed during the construction of the new premises, while the new supermarket has created 15 new positions with 80 people currently employed by the store.
“I would like to thank our loyal customers for their patience and support over the last few months, the customers are what is important to us and we cannot lose sight of that,” says Pat Joyce. “It is very important, a huge investment, and a vote of confidence for the area of Headford. It uplifts the whole area and many people have wished us well over the last few months, and we are delighted that there is this great buzz going around the town about it. We can now provide one of the best facilities in the country to the town of Headford and we are looking forward to hearing their feedback on the new store.”
For its opening day there will be free sampling and tasting on offer at each of its fresh food counters, promotional offers available across its range of more than 30,000 products, as well as other surprise events across the weekend, while Galway Bay FM will be on site from 11am tomorrow.
