BUSINESS boomed in the opening week of Buronga and Gol Gol’s first supermarket, with NSW residents relieved that it opened just prior to the state’s borders being closed.
The Midway Market Place IGA opened on July 1 after six years of planning, with director Steve Saunders claiming sales in the first week of trading were higher than he had forecast.
“There are so many customers coming in, they were excited that we were finally open and now they’re all breathing a sigh of relief every time they come in,” Mr Saunders said.
“They’ve said how amazing it is that they have a supermarket that they don’t have to cross a bridge to get to.”
Until the opening of the new supermarket, the closest supermarket to Buronga and Gol Gol on the NSW side of the bridge was in Coomealla.
Many residents would instead opt to take the 10-minute journey to supermarkets in Mildura.
Mr Saunders said customers from as far as Euston had paid the store a visit.
“I think we did have a fair few Mildura people coming across in the first few days we opened, but I haven’t noticed them as much,” he said.
Mr Saunders said the supermarket employed staff from both sides of the river, but the border closure hadn’t impacted as significantly as they initially feared.
“They’ve got the permit system working now and it’s fairly easy,” he said.
“I was worried it was going to be hours because of the way they had set it up, I thought it would be traffic backed up to Eleventh Street trying to get across the bridge, but it hasn’t been that bad.
“I think, though, when you go over to NSW, people are just avoiding it.”
