Colesberg, one of the main stops on the busy N1 highway route between Cape Town and Johannesburg, has become home to the 262nd FreshStop at Caltex store, a flagship site that offers a wide range of new products and services to travellers. Located on the N1 in Colesberg, FreshStop at Caltex Star Stop Metro Park opened its doors on Thursday, 19 October 2017 after undergoing an enormous renovation and upgrade project that has created employment for 95 people.
Apart from the new flagship FreshStop store, the Caltex fuel forecourt was upgraded with the canopy being extended to make room for two additional islands, so that 12 cars can be served at a time; and the truck stop has been fitted with a new canopy and pumps.
FreshStop, the largest and fastest growing convenience retail brand in South Africa, continues to lead the SA industry in c-store innovation. Evidence of this can be seen in the number of new lines that have been introduced – FreshStop Star Stop Metro Park is all about destination convenience shopping and offers a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, a selection of grocery items and a wide range of general merchandise. The store also features FreshStop’s latest food lines, such as Crispy Chicken, Grill to Go, Hot Dog Bar, Biltong Bar, Nut Bar, Juice Bar and AngelBerry frozen yoghurt to satisfy customers’ wide-ranging needs. In addition, a full-service Seattle Coffee Bar with a trained Barista is in-store and their great coffee works well with FreshStop’s Doughnut Delite outlet. There is also a Spur outlet and an H2O Bar, offering high-volume filtered water on-site.
“Our focus is very much on convenience and ensuring that our customers can be in and out of the store in 10 minutes if they’re in a hurry to get back on the road. However, it is also an opportunity for us to offer our customers a great range of convenience food offers,” says Deon Louw, the Site Operator.
On the other hand, as the store signage proclaims…life’s a journey…and this store has been developed to offer a respite from the road. The FreshStop Diner, which has the look and feel of a modern, stylish American diner, is the perfect place to freshen up, recharge enjoy the many food offerings available in-store. It offers customers free wifi and power point sockets and an additional bonus for travellers and commuters are the new, clean and fresh toilet facilities available on-site.
“This is our second FreshStop Diner nationally and we plan to roll-out many more of these diners as we push on with our strategic drive to build our highway fuel forecourt network,” says Joe Boyle, Director at FreshStop. Further services offered on-site include an Aramex store-to-door courier service, as well as a Standard Bank ATM. One of the key focus areas is excellent customer service at all times.
Deon Louw, who has been with the Alzu Group for the past six years, will be the Site Operator. According to Boyle, “He brings with him a vast amount of experience in the fuel retail industry and his passion for the ‘customer experience’ and the highest standards of customer service and satisfaction makes him ideal for this business”.
A total of 95 jobs have been created and all but two of these positions are held by people from the local community. “We are not only excited to be a part of the Caltex and FreshStop families but more importantly, we are committed to contributing to the local economy by offering a quality range of products and services to our local residents and passing travellers.
“We have on-going plans to introduce a pet park, outside seating for families that want to picnic and charging facilities for electric cars. So we invite all the locals to join us and become a part of our future. We will offer promotions on an on-going basis and we are extremely enthusiastic about our opening day and our continuing growth within this community,” adds Louw.
We wish Deon and his team all the best for the opening of this 262nd FreshStop at Caltex Star Stop Metro Park store in Colesberg.
FreshStop, named International Convenience Retailer of the Year 2013 and finalist of the 2017 International Convenience Retailer of the Year Award, is South Africa’s fastest growing 24-hour convenience store brand and has a network of 262 stores countrywide.
For more information:
Website: www.freshstop.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/freshstop
Twitter: @FreshstopSA
Instagram: @freshstopsa