Work is continuing on a new hinterland supermarket that is set to open this month.
The Imbil IGA store will be owned and operated by the O’Connell family, who also have stores at Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay but started with an IGA at Chancellor Park in 1996.
Justin O’Connell said his family was pleased to be able to offer a much-needed “proper supermarket” to Imbil and the rest of the Mary Valley.
“The Gympie region is growing, the same as the Sunshine Coast, and there’s a lack of supermarket offerings there. There was an opportunity to provide something to the community,” he said.
He said the store would not only support locals but the many tourists drawn to the area between Imbil and Kenilworth to camp.
Mr O’Connell said fit-out was underway and going well, and the store was on track to open in mid-September.
He said a recruitment day held at the Imbil RSL on August 13 to fill the store’s 40 positions had been a “big success”, with 70 people attending for 10-minute “speed interviews”.
Another 30 resumes had been received from people who were unable to attend, he said.
All positions were filled by August 19.
“We’ve already employed some of our store managers and department managers, who are being trained in our other stores at the moment, and the majority of our other employees will be trained up prior to opening,” Mr O’Connell said.
He said most of those employed were from Imbil and nearby surrounds.
He said the new store would offer fresh produce, a delicatessen, a “super bakery” section and regular supermarket lines.
The store will support local producers such as Kenilworth Dairies, Maleny Dairies and Mary Valley Smallgoods, and have a other gourmet lines as well as eco-friendly products, he said.
The opening of the store is eagerly anticipated by many residents, who have been without a local grocery store since the Friendly Grocer closed on August 18.
The construction of a new IGA sparked debate within the town, with some people lauding the arrival of a larger grocery store while others felt a sense of loyalty to the Friendly Grocer.
The Friendly Grocer site had been the location of the town’s grocery store for decades and the building, constructed in 1923, was the second shop in the town.
Chelsea Martin, who was a supervisor at the Friendly Grocer, said the building was changing hands and she was not sure of the new owners’ plans for it.
She said the owners had decided not to restock and staff were given less than a week’s notice of the closure.
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Ms Martin, who has a second job, said she would use the opportunity to make a career change and expected the other staff members would pick up jobs, but she was worried for locals stuck without a grocery shop for about a month.
She said some residents did not have transport, there was no public transport, and not all areas could access delivery services.
“I feel for the town. I really hope somebody does something to help them until the IGA’s open,” she said.
Jo Robey, owner of Mary Valley Traders, said the town was coping in the interim, although travellers and visitors might be put out upon finding the only grocery store shut.
Ms Robey said her store was stocking seasonal produce as usual, the bakery was baking more, and the Liberty service station was selling basics.
She did not think anyone would be going hungry as most locals did their main grocery shopping in Gympie, Woolworths and Coles both delivered to the area, and support workers and carers regularly drove in and out of the town to assist the elderly and people with disabilities.
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