Spring Farm Village has opened its doors in Kingston, with retailers reporting a bumper first day of trade that caught some by surprise.
The new shopping centre welcomed its first customers at 8am on Wednesday, with Coles holding a ribbon cutting ceremony and welcome to country to mark the occasion.
Scott Spanton, CEO of developer Tipalea Partners, said the opening went better than expected.
“[We] had a steady stream of people in through the morning, and just grew as the day went on,” he told Pulse.
“Lunchtime was slammed.”
Spanton said sandwich shop Happy Larry Deli was among the standout performers on the day.
“Happy Larry, by way of example, normally does four kilos of coffee a day [in their existing Hobart store], they thought they might do seven kilos today, but they did 11 by lunchtime,” he said.
All retailers were open except for St Lukes Health, who will open their customer care and dental practice in the coming weeks.
Spanton said customer feedback had been overwhelmingly positive, with a few practical suggestions already being acted on.
“Need more seating, definitely out the front between the cafe and the bakery,” he said.
“So we’ve got some more seating coming tomorrow.”
He said the company’s small structure meant changes could happen quickly.
“We don’t have a committee of 1000, we don’t have to go up the management chain, all you have to do is get a yes or a no from me,” he said.
Retailers are now using the next 10 days to iron out any operational issues before a big family fun day on May 30.
Felix Graves, owner of Smash Boy Burgers, said he was blown away by the opening day response – after only opening his first store in Glenorchy last October.
“We opened half an hour early and we were packed straight away,” he told Pulse.
The 25-year-old said trade was on par with his burger shop’s grand opening in Glenorchy.
He has hired around 15 new staff for the Kingston location, with another 10 helping from the original store.
He said the dinner rush on Thursday night was expected to be even bigger.
“I reckon tonight’s gonna be the big one, so we’re just all mentally preparing ourselves for it,” he said.
Happy Larry Deli owner Vaz Khetarpal said the expansion felt like a natural fit.
“We’ve built something really special with the Hobart community and Kingston felt like a natural next step,” Khetarpal said.
“We’re not just opening another store, we’re bringing that same energy, quality and obsession with great sandwiches to a whole new pocket of locals.”
