Olympic medalist opens new Aldi store in Flitwick with help from primary school pupils

Olympic medalist Ryan Owens cutting the ribbon to the new Aldi store with help from students from The Firs Lower Primary School. Picture: Tim George

A new Aldi store opens its doors in Flitwick this morning with Olympic medalist Ryan Owens cutting the ribbon with help from students from The Firs Lower Primary School.

The new store on Ampthill Road will be run by store manager Andy Fahey, along with a team of 42 colleagues.

Team GB Silver medallist Ryan Owens gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables to the first 30 customers in the queue. He later delivered an inspirational assembly for pupils at The Firs Lower Primary School as part of the supermarket’s initiative, Get Set to Eat Fresh.

Aldi Flitwick also offered pupils at the primary school the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store. The younsters were tasked with creating a poster to show what healthy eating means to them. Ryan Owens announced the winner during the assembly.

Andy Fahey said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Flitwick. It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store, and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. I’m also thrilled that we’ve been able to support The Firs Lower Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”

Ryan Owens added: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time. It was great to speak with the children at The Firs Lower Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I’ve also managed to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

The new store is calling on local charities and food banks to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community. Charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, seven days a week. Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email aldi@neighbourly.com.

The store will be open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday.