The owners of Budgens supermarket in Sawbridgeworth have announced they are quitting the store and it will be taken over by the Co-op.
In a post on the Sawbridgeworth Facebook group, Paul and Michelle Gravelle said they were selling the London Road business to the Central England Co-op “after 16 happy years”.
Their last day will be Sunday October 23. The supermarket will close for around two-and-a-half weeks for a major £800,000 refit, with a brand new layout, look and feel, additional parking spaces, an enhanced ‘food to go’ offering and new customer bathrooms including baby-changing facilities.
They thanked customers for their support, adding: “All of our team will be staying to serve you with the Co-op, so you will still see all the familiar faces you have come to know.
“We would like to thank you for your custom and support over the years, especially through the pandemic. We wish you all the best for the future and will miss the team and customers we have had the pleasure of coming to know.”
The news was greeted with sadness by many commenting on the post, one saying what a fantastic job they had done during the pandemic. Another said the shop was a “major part of Sawbridgeworth”.
Andy Peake, commercial director at Central England Co-op, said: “Our purchase of the Sawbridgeworth store allows us to continue to invest in our local high streets as part of our growth strategy and to join the wonderful community here.
“We acquired Gravelle’s Budgens at Sawston Cambridge a few years ago and are excited to see the same success here in Sawbridgeworth.
“I would like to thank residents for their patience while we complete the refit, and we look forward to welcoming them again when we reopen with a fantastic new look.”
Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK, with 8,000 colleagues serving customers across more than 400 trading sites in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
