Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Supermarket sweeps up curler for opening
A LONG-AWAITED new superstore opened its doors for the first time yesterday at a specia l red-ribbon event.
The new Aldi premises located on Myrekirk Road was officially opened by Olympic bronze medalwinning curler, Victoria Chalmers.
Speaking at the event, the Olympian praised the turnout of the local community.
Victoria said: “It’s been an honour to be a part of Aldi’s store opening.
“I’ve had a great time talking to both the adults and children of Dundee about healthy eating and my experience of the Olympics.”
Charleston stalwart Stella Carrington, who is a longtime supporter of the premises, hoped that the new supermarket could bring opportunities to the area.
She said: “I think it is absolutely fantastic that it has finally opened.
“It’s great for the local area because it’s not just about the cheap produce but it also produces jobs for local people.”
Although she did not make it along to the official opening, Stella plans to make good use of the discount store.
She said: “I fought tooth and nail for this store to be opened.
“I will hopefully be heading along to see it very soon.”
The store will be run by manager Owen Whyte alongside a team of 24 people from the area.
Owen said: “It’s been a fantastic morning here at our grand opening.
“It was lovely to meet our new customers and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks.”
The Myrekirk store is the third Aldi to open i n the City of Discovery, with the other premises in the Stack Retail Park and on Arbroath Road at Craigiebank.
Despite already having planning consent for the premises back in 2016, Aldi was initially denied a licence to sell alcohol by the city council under their over-provision policy.
However, this was overturned by Sheriff Kevin Veal after an appeal by the German firm.
At the time, Robert Stoddart, the supermarket giant’s property director, said: “We have been very encouraged by the grant of our liquor licence and are now focused on delivering our pledge to invest in a new Aldi store for the Charleston community and other shoppers in Dundee.”