The Edwards family opened their new FreshStop at Caltex Perseverance store on 14 March 2019 at
9 Kurland Road in Perseverance, an industrial area located about 20kms outside of PE central. The new 24-hour FreshStop store will offer customers a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, a variety of grocery items, and a Grab n Go section with a wide selection of snacks and refreshments such as fresh sandwiches, drinks and pies. In addition, the Pitstop Café will offer a selection of hot takeaway meals and there’ll be ABSA and Standard Bank ATMs on site. Most exciting of all is the introduction of two new food offerings – Grill to Go and Crispy Chicken outlets – as well as a House of Coffees coffee bar with Barista service.
Father-and-son team, David and Matthew Edwards, are PE locals who have created a fuel retail oasis for workers and businesses in the Perseverance area. The previously outdated unbranded store has been completely remodelled and the exterior of the Caltex fuel forecourt has been upgraded and the forecourt restrooms revamped.
“We are extremely excited! Just to have a new and exciting convenience store is exciting to us as owners, and the opening has created a refreshed excitement amongst staff and customers alike,” says David Edwards, Store Retailer. David is one of three shareholders of the business – his brother Peter, his son Matt, who also manages the store, and himself.
Having spent most of their lives in Port Elizabeth, the family are passionate about the area and the people and feel proud to provide employment for 26 full-time staff from the surrounding areas.
“We have a great team” says Matthew Edwards, who manages the site. The family makes an effort to maintain strong relationships with the surrounding businesses who support them and they have most recently, sponsored soccer kits for the nearby Kwamagxaki High School.
“I believe if we get the expanded FreshStop offering right then we will attract an entirely new client segment. In the longer term, we would like to look at ways to increase our offering to truck drivers by providing a type of ‘truck-stop’ service as our site has a huge amount of underutilised space at the rear. Our goal is to build a sustainable family-operated business that meets our customers’ needs and provides them with a great retail experience,” explains Matthew.
We wish David, Matthew and their team all the best for the opening of this 299th FreshStop at Caltex Perseverance store.
