Spar North of England retailer M&L Richardson & Sons Ltd are reaping the benefits from a refit at their Low Row store and forecourt.
The Spar store, located between Brampton and Haltwhistle on the major A69 trunk road, has undergone a complete refurbishment and an expansion of floorspace.
Around 400sq ft has been added to its size to accommodate a new kitchen area which has been incorporated as part of the development work, taking the space to 1,500sq ft in total.
Driving this change is the introduction of an enhanced Food To Go offering which includes a hot Clayton Park Bakery food unit. Two new Cheeky Coffee machines have also been installed too, both dispensing iced coffees, to support demand for on-the-go customers.
The comprehensive changes have also seen new energy efficient refrigeration installed throughout, modern space saving shelving has been installed, bright LED lighting fitted, and a new customer counter introduced.
Externally, the Shell forecourt is enjoying a spruce up with the latest graphics and branding, and new lighting has been fitted around the canopy.
Low Row is where things began for the Richardson family business in 1968. Nestled on the picturesque border of Cumbria and Northumberland, and a stone’s throw from Hadrian’s Wall, it became part of Spar in 2003 when the Richardsons partnered with James Hall & Co. Ltd.
Martyn Richardson is one of four brothers who are directors of M&L Richardson & Sons Ltd alongside David, Kevin, and Paul. His niece, and David’s daughter Ellie, is the first of the next generation of Richardson family members to join the business.
Martynsaid: “We are very pleased with the look and feel of the Low Row store and a huge thank you to our team and to the various departments at James Hall for their work in bringing the transformation to life.
“The development has been positive and sales have improved. We made the changes really to take greater advantage of Food To Go, especially putting in the Cheeky Coffee brand and the Clayton Park Bakery unit has meant we can improve margin and introduce link deals.”
The Richardsons have continued to grow and invest in their business over the years, currently sitting at 11 sites across Cumbria, Northumberland, and County Durham.
A standalone Spar store on English Street in central Carlisle was opened in October 2024 within the same month that the family acquired a forecourt site at Edens Lawn in Haltwhistle.
Planning has also been approved to redevelop the family’s forecourt and Spar store at Crossways in Gretna, and Spar Frizington in West Cumbria has been given the green light by planning too for an expanded, much-improved community store and brand-new forecourt.
Martyn added: “We must keep progressing. Now we have Ellie working with us as the next generation of the family, learning the business, delivering the same level of service our customers expect, and bringing in new ideas to help drive it forward.”
Ellie said: “We are known as the garage with the nice view on the A69, and when you hear that from customers who regularly stop here, I think that is quite heartwarming.
“I started in the business as I wanted to be working after the pandemic where I lost a little motivation for academic study. I switched to do a Level 2 Retail Apprenticeship instead and I immediately loved it.
“It is a crazy, demanding and fast paced industry with plenty of variety – you see new faces and deal with regular customers daily. I can say for definite that no day is the same. I have washed cars, covered shifts on the tills, and I have helped manage the car workshop at Low Row.
“I am training up to be an Area Manager, but my focus currently is the Spar store at Low Row, particularly after the recent store refit and expansion to include the kitchen. Food hygiene and safety is vital with food service and that is a growing part of the business.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned Spar stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
