‘We are one big happy family’: Long-standing supermarket store celebrates 50 years in Northampton

A long-standing supermarket celebrated its 50th anniversary, with an employee of more than 31 years describing the store as “one big happy family”.

Waitrose, in Harborough Road, has remained on the same site since the shop was first built in 1973 and celebrated the five decade milestone on Monday (June 5).

Marion Chown, who will have worked at Waitrose for 32 years in September, believes the Kingsthorpe store is the longest running supermarket in the town.

As Marion’s children grew up and her son started school, she began working at Waitrose and has not looked back since.

“We’re one big happy family,” she said. “It’s a family branch and there are lots of families who work here.”

Marion’s son has worked at Waitrose for 21 years and her daughter did a stint throughout her A Level and university studies.

What began as working six days a week built up over the years, and Marion is now slowly cutting down her hours as the years go by.

She shared that there are a number of employees who have worked at the store for more than 45 years, with two having recently retired after more than half a century.

“We don’t go anywhere,” she said.

When asked why she has remained working at the same supermarket for more than three decades, Marion says the employees get “treated very well” because of Waitrose’s partnership with John Lewis.

When you hit 25 years of working for the company, you get six months of paid leave – and Marion used hers to go to Australia in 2017.

Each person does something different with that time, which she described as “amazing”.

Marion said: “Not many companies do that. It makes us feel special.”

On the day of the anniversary, one customer shared that she has shopped in that Waitrose store since she moved to the area in 1973 – the same year as when the supermarket first opened in Kingsthorpe.

Though it is “unusual” to find such “loyal customers”, Marion says it definitely comes down to the fact that they have remained in the same location.

The building underwent an extension and doubled in size back in 2004, which included introducing the cafe – now a popular spot for meet ups of all kinds.

Marion is “proud” of how much the team has done for the local community and charities over the past five decades.

Having had cancer twice herself, the store has raised money for Cancer Research by hosting a range of sponsored events – from walks and cycles to three-legged pub crawls.

Waitrose has also supported Cynthia Spencer and the Gosset Ward at Northampton General Hospital, which cares for newborns who require intensive care.

Local students have had the opportunity to sell fruit and vegetables outside the shop, and have tours of behind the scenes inside.

Marion sees working with the students from The Beehive as the most rewarding, as they are also given the chance to work independently in the cafe.

A number of retired employees will be welcomed back on Thursday (June 8) to celebrate the impressive milestone with cake and fizz.