Revamped OKay Essen reopens as a sustainable neighbourhood supermarket on 5 March

On Friday 5 March, OKay Essen will reopen its doors after undergoing a thorough facelift. The store was expanded by 215 m² additional store surface and houses a brand-new freshmart, extra cooling cabinets, a new bread corner and a spacious car park with a charging post for electric cars. Furthermore, OKay Essen does not use any fossil fuels. Store manager Linda Pels and her 18-member team are happy to welcome their customers in compliance with the current corona measures.

March 2, 2021

Fresh products, daily fresh bread and chilled drinks

With its modern lay-out, the range of ultra fresh products immediately stands out. “Our freshmart is much larger now, allowing us to really showcase our fruit and vegetables", Linda Pels says. "Outside the freshmart, we added extra cooling cabinets so that tapas, cold cuts and pastries stand out even more. Moreover, we have a broad range of chilled drinks, handy for people on their way home, to school or to work."

Fresh bread is delivered at OKay Essen every day. Behind the scenes, co-workers bake quality rolls and buns. "Our new bread corner is very well-organised; you can immediately find what you are looking for", Linda Pels explains.

The frozen products department has also been redesigned. Chest-type freezers with glass lids enable customers to find their favourite products in no time.

Easily accessible

OKay Essen is located Kapelstraat 85, near the intersection between the N133 and the Ring. The renewed neighbourhood supermarket has a large 53-space parking and a charging post for electric cars. The bicycle shed offers space for 5 bikes and cargo bikes.

"Throughout the years, we have gained loyal customers who value our broad range of products, our friendly co-workers and the lowest prices in the neighbourhood. Together with my 18 co-workers, all living in the area around Essen, I want to continue along the same lines in our renovated store”, Linda Pels continues.

Minimum environmental impact

Like the other Colruyt Group store formats, OKay attaches great importance to building sustainably and with a minimum ecological footprint. OKay Essen is totally fossil fuel free: the refrigeration system works on propane, a natural coolant that is much more environment-friendly than chemical coolants. This reduces CO2 emissions by 90% compared to a classic cooling system. And we recover the heat released by this system. The toilets are flushed with rain water, while all precipitation is collected in a wadi, a shallow water basin. We then allow the water to steadily seep into the ground, thus relieving the sewer system.

The paint used for the store's front breaks down pollutants in the air. Under the influence of sunlight, this paint converts nitrogen oxides, ozone and harmful organic substances into nitrate and oxygen. The rain dissolves and washes away the nitrates.

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