There is a buzz in the air around Fermoy – and with good reason. On Thursday July 24th, Tesco will officially open the doors to its brand-new, purpose-built store located just off Mill Road and Courthouse Road, bringing with it a state-of-the-art shopping experience, new jobs, and a strong focus on community connection. This store will join 12 Tesco stores already open across County Cork that employ more than 1,000 local people.
An eagerly anticipated opening, the new store is set to feature much more than just the extensive supermarket offering, so whether you are looking for your weekly essentials, freshly baked goods, a new mobile phone, the latest F&F fashion, or simply a welcoming place to shop, Tesco Fermoy has been designed with you in mind.
In the next few months, Grocery Home Shopping will also launch, offering the convenience of having your shopping delivered right to your doorstep.
Store Manager Damien Geraghty, who will lead a team of 100 colleagues, expressed his enthusiasm ahead of the opening.
“It’s a long time coming,” Geraghty told The Avondhu. “The feedback we have had from local people in the town is really positive – people are excited, and we are just as excited to welcome them through our doors when we open.”
JOBS THAT MATTER
More than 600 people applied to be part of the Tesco Fermoy team — a true testament to the excitement and demand in the local area. With 80 new jobs created for the store so far, many filled by residents of Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Rathcormac and beyond, the store is already becoming an integral part of the community.
And there’s more to come. With online delivery set to launch in the coming weeks, new roles in picking and delivery will soon be added, bringing the team up to around 100.
“It’s great to see so many new faces coming together, full of energy and pride,” says store manager Damien Geraghty. “We’re building something special here and hopefully creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where we look after our team well so they can really look after our customers.”
SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY, EVERY DAY
Supporting local producers is a big part of Tesco’s business. Customers in Fermoy will find a broad selection of Cork-based brands like Silver Pail, Velo Coffee, Folláin, Horgans Delicatessen, Hodgins Sausages, Ór butter, Ballymaloe, Clonakilty Food Company, Glenilen Farm and many more in store. Speaking about their suppliers, Damien Geraghty said: “We are so proud to highlight these brilliant producers and to help promote local businesses across County Cork. Tesco is the single biggest retail buyer of Irish food and drink in the world – there’s no one who champions Irish suppliers like we do!”
Tesco believes in giving back to the communities it serves too. Fermoy’s new store will participate in the Tesco Community Fund, which supports local causes with financial support for local projects through customer voting using blue tokens. The first beneficiaries of Fermoy’s Community Fund will be Fermoy Men’s Club Choir, Fermoy Community Youth Centre, and Fermoy Swimming Club which have all been nominated by the local community.
Tesco Fermoy is also proud to be home to Ireland’s first-ever Changing Places toilet facility in a supermarket, providing enhanced accessibility for customers with complex disabilities.
“It’s all about inclusion,” Damien adds. “We want everyone in Fermoy to feel welcome when they shop with us. We’re here to serve the community and are really looking forward to playing our part in supporting a vibrant Fermoy town centre.”
BUILT BY LOCALS, FOR LOCALS
Even the construction of the store was a local success story. With up to 200 tradespeople on site daily, nearly all hired from the area, the project provided a boost for local employment long before the first shelf was ever stocked.
And now, with the opening day fast approaching, anticipation is building across town.
TESCO FERMOY OPENS THURSDAY, JULY 24
Whether you’re shopping for fresh food, fashion, or looking to support local community projects, Tesco Fermoy invites you to step inside and discover a new kind of shopping experience.
Tesco Fermoy’s local suppliers
Silver Pail: Silver Pail Dairy manufactures its own branded range of foodservice ice cream, alongside the contract and private label products, at their production site. They specialise in indulgent ice cream, frozen yogurt, and hand-finished desserts – all produced at a purpose-built facility in Fermoy, Co. Cork. As a second-generation family-run business, it was founded with one clear mission: to craft the creamiest, most delicious Irish ice cream using only the best raw materials – a mission that is still applicable today.
Velo Roasters: Velo, whose multi-award-winning speciality coffee is roasted in Co Cork, sources the beans from a supplier who focuses on quality and sustainability. Their range of single origin coffees offer a huge variety of flavour and aroma with the trademark Velo sweetness maintained. All of our single origins offer 100% traceability back to source.
Folláin: Founded using a 100-year-old recipe that had been passed down through family generations, the first batch of grapefruit marmalade was made in a West Cork kitchen and was brought to the market in 1983. Folláin is wholesome by name and in the almost 40 years they have been in business that commitment is just getting stronger. A wholesome, more sustainable future is what they want to assure and making good food in a sustainable way is how they intend to do it.
Horgan’s Deli: Horgan’s operates from a state-of-the-art warehouse and production facility in Mitchelstown. However, the story started when managing director, Michael Horgan’s grandfather opened Horgan’s Butcher’s shop on the main street in 1921. The shop was eventually passed down through the generations to Michael, where in 1976, Horgan’s Delicatessen Supplies Ltd. was founded from a warehouse at the rear of the shop.The company began its operations as an importer and distributor of a small range of speciality cheeses and meats and now offers a large, well-rounded inventory of Irish farmhouse, continental and speciality cheeses, meats, antipasti, patés, and fresh pasta.
Hodgins Sausages: Hodgins Foods, a family-run business nestling in the Galtee mountains outside Mitchelstown, strives to make only the finest quality products. Mervin, who started life as a craft butcher, started selling his pork sausages, black and white puddings to his own customers. As they grew in popularity, other butchers and supermarkets started to order them and over a few short years, Mervin could not keep up with the pace of demand from his original shop. The dream grew bigger, and he moved to a new premises which was dedicated to making pork sausages, black puddings and white puddings.
Ór Butter: North Cork Creameries is the home of Ór Real Irish Butter. Ór is the translation of the Irish word for Gold which describes Ór’s creamy natural goodness and reassuringly traditional taste. This is made possible by the traditional, slow churning, craft production methods which have been used since 1928 and since then generations of Master Butter Makers have stood over the production of traditional Irish Butter – made with Summer milk from certified grass-fed cows. All of which is sourced close to North Cork Creamery from farmers and farms they know for generations. We are proud of our natural golden butter because we know that nothing tastes better than natural!
Ór is close to the earth and land and they believe in sustainable farming. Happy farmers have happy cows – producing the highest quality milk which allows the creation of Ór Real Irish Butter whose mission is goodness, tradition, and quality and to minimise impact on the environment and to support the local community.
