Butler’s Food World opens in Freeport

Jeff Butler

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -- Butler’s Food World opened its doors on Saturday, December 18th to the delight, excitement and anticipation of the residents and guests of Grand Bahama. The largest, upscale, high quality supermarket of its kind in The Bahamas, Butler’s Food World now offers Grand Bahamians, winter residents and year-round visitors, the selection, quality and availability of products that were only available in the US, Canada and Europe.

The new 20,000 sq ft. supermarket is located in the Home Center building, in the heart of Freeport. The store, fashioned after a combination of US and Canadian supermarkets, carries the tradition of Butler Specialty Foods featuring goods from over 20 countries with emphasis on top quality brand name products. Fresh produce, organic products, fresh meats, gourmet foods, health foods, housewares, dairy, cold and frozen foods, a deli, a “to go” counter, Café Butler’s - specializing in gourmet coffee drinks and pastries, a flower shop, a liquor store and cigar specialty counter, all combine to create a food world second to none, reinforcing the Butler's theme of “Creating a Higher Standard for Grand Bahama.”

Jeff Butler's decision to bring Brad Scott home from Canada was the main ingredient in the start up and operational success of the new specialty food store. Brad, after several years with Solomon Brothers in Nassau, operated a Sam's Club and later a Wal-Mart in Southern Ontario. It is apparent that Mr. Scott and Mr. Butler make a good team.

Both Butler and Scott confirm that what you see is only the beginning, with several thousand new products coming on line within the next 30 to 60 days.

The Butler reputation for quality, selection and availability will be maintained and expanded into general groceries with better pricing and a larger more diverse selection of goods. This is not a second outlet for Butler Specialty Foods. All retail products will be transferred from Butler Specialty Foods on Yellow Pine Road to the Home Center building Butler's Food World.

Butler's Specialty Foods on Yellow Pine, with its large warehouse, coolers and freezers, will become a holding and receiving facility for the new supermarket while transitioning to a wholesale only outlet catering to hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and service stations on Grand Bahama. On-island retail inventory, which previously stood at over six hundred thousand (600,000+), now has an additional 1.5 million in inventory of dry groceries, meats, poultry, dairy, frozen foods, produce, housewares, etc., making it the largest supermarket in the country.

The Butler Family has successfully been in the food & beverage industry in The Bahamas for 221 years beginning in the year 1790. This newest addition to the Butler Group is history in the making for Grand Bahama in its progression forward. The Grand Bahama community has long awaited the opening of the new Butler's Food World. Well Grand Bahama, here it is.

New Extended Parking at the Port Lucaya Marketplace

Customers taking advantage of holiday deals being offered at the Marketplace. Store owners have also extended their operating hours to accommodate the late evening shoppers.

By GBPA

Freeport, Grand Bahama - Management at the Port Lucaya Marketplace have pulled out all of the stops to attract last minute shoppers before the Christmas holidays. From window displays decked with perfumes, jewelry and other wonderful holiday items, to sidewalk racks filled with pocket tempting deals; merchants are stocked and ready to receive and please customers.
Noting that parking at the Marketplace has been a challenge, management at the Port Lucaya Marketplace has expanded the customer parking area, to ensure that customers will have easy access and a pleasant experience when visiting the Marketplace.

Entertainment and Marketing Coordinator for the Marketplace Ms. Karen Ferguson-Bain expressed, “When you think of fine dining, shopping or family oriented entertainment, the Port Lucaya Marketplace is one of the first places that come to mind, but the issue of parking also accompanies this thought,” Ferguson-Bain commented. “As the final days before the Christmas Holiday approaches, we wanted to make coming to Port Lucaya a pleasant experience for everyone by extending parking to the far Western side of the Marketplace.

The new expanded parking area is intended to accommodate tenants and employees, so that the immediate parking facilities in the Western and Eastern lots can be utilized by customers.

This area is intended to accommodate tenants and employees, so that the immediate parking facilities in the Western and Eastern lots can be utilized by customers,” she continued. As a result of the new parking structure, customers now have ample parking facilities, with access to the Western parking area near Domino’s Pizza and to the Eastern parking area at the rear and to the right of the Oasis Drug Store.

During the final days before Christmas, store owners have extended their operating hours to accommodate the late evening shoppers. Customers are encouraged to check out the deals being offered at the Marketplace as most storeowners are hosting in-house promotions, where with a minimum purchase, customers become eligible to win prizes like matching Movado watch sets, a new 2011 vehicle, a trip for two to London and many other prizes.

GBPA hope to spur downtown Christmas spending

By GENEA NOEL
Freeport News

Freeport, Grand Bahama- In an attempt to draw business to the downtown area during the Christmas season, the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) will host a Christmas Concert this Saturday.

Stores in the area will be offering sidewalk sale items while schools, churches and other organizations will conduct performances on the theme 'Angels of Hope.'

According to Geneva Rutherford, director of Community Relations for the GBPA, the festivities will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday where the St. Georges High School Band will lead the march around the perimeter of the downtown area.

The event, she promised, will be an inspiring one to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.

"It is the first time that we have done this type of activity and it is the aim that as we shop and walk around, we will all be inspired by the real message of Christmas.

"We all need to remember why we have this season ... and what we really want to emphasize as we share in the activities, is that the whole reason is to uplift everyone's spirit."

Arthur Jones, vice president of Building and Development for the GBPA noted that this year was probably the most challenging Grand Bahamians have had in a very long time.

"We know that there are many persons who have had very difficult times and we are very conscious of that, and as we decorate the city for this season we are very mindful of so many persons who are in need," he said

"This year we thought that it was more important to share a lot of what we had with those who were in need."

With the assistance of a local art group, made up of students, Jones said that residents can expect to see the art work of these students depicting the GBPA's versions of angels of hope with inspiring messages, draped from lamp posts along the downtown centre, as the holidays draw closer.

The GBPA has also teamed up with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) for the window decoration competition. Business-es in the downtown area have been invited to decorate their windows depicting the 'Angels of Hope' theme. The winner from the downtown area will receive a one year licence fee wavier.

GBCC president, Peter Turnquest said that they are targeting the downtown area for special recognition and the aim is to get as many of the downtown businesses and the wider community to participate.

Judging for the competition will take place on December 23.