Watts Fresh will triple its weekly produce offering in a move that will expand its floor space and position it at the gateway to Kyneton’s food scene.
Green grocers Dean and Sherril Lamb secured a prime piece of real estate in the old Kyneton Toyota premises and expect to welcome shoppers to a new-look store by Christmas.
“We’ve really outgrown our Mollison Street space,” Dean said.
“This is an exciting chance to move to a bigger site and we will be looking to increase our local and regional produce and expand our overall offering.”
The new site boasts bigger floor space, warehousing facilities to improve efficiency, all-ability access, on-site parking and bicycle racks. It will also allow for more local employment opportunities with that unmistakable face-to-face Watts service that customers highly value.
“In a world of self-serve checkouts and increasing online activities, those who offer our kind of service are more significant than ever before because there is less of it,” Dean said.
“This move is us saying there’s still a place for independent fruit and vegetables.”
With this leap forward, Dean and Sherril aim to grow their local supplier and grower base.
Watts seasonally stocks locally produced potatoes, quinces, apples, honey, and a range of cottage goods like jams and chutneys. True Macedon Ranges local brands like Tea of Earth, Black Hill Honey, Black Hill Olive Oil, Macedon Ranges Honey, adorn their shelves.
They support farmers in Harcourt, Trentham, Shepparton, Werribee, Mildura and Koo Wee Rup growing regions.
“We have some first and second generation growers on board which is really good. We are looking to increase the number of local producers we support,” Dean said.
They will soon sign on with an independent dairy and back the return of glass milk bottles to the shelf to support a recycle and reuse culture.
The team is also getting behind various options to cut down single-use plastics by offering paper bag and box alternatives and encouraging initiatives like Boomerang Bags.
Dean said the new premise also offered the chance to take on other sustainable practices.
“We own the building so we’re excited that we will be able to invest in environmentally friendly building solutions,” he said.
Customers can expect to see the store operational by the end of the year.
