Welcome! Last week, St. Pierre’s opened our latest new shop – and this one’s really special! Read on to find out more!
The staff were all ready to go!
And then a quick pep talk from Director Nick… over sushi of course 🙂
We’re now open in Richmond, a vibrant suburb of Nelson. At the sunny top of the South Island, Nelson is a famous holiday destination and a growing city in its own right. Our location is by a major supermarket, on a busy road, near several schools and a major sports complex, so we expect there will be plenty of demand for our healthy, satisfying meals. Luckily the Richmond team will be serving both sushi and Bento Bowl products, so there’s plenty of variety to keep the locals happy!
New shop partner Satomi Munakata was busy but had a huge smile on her face, saying that
“I’m thrilled to become the founding Nelson shop partner. I’ve been with St. Pierre’s for around 23 years now and was fortunate to be the partner at Takanini. However, this challenge is on another level again! There’s so much more to running a dual-format sushi and Bento Bowl shop, but luckily other partners, head office staff and my new team here have been really helpful.
That, and I’m so happy to have moved to Nelson. I lived in Auckland for 25 years, and I’ve always loved visiting the South Island. The lifestyle here in Nelson is so relaxed, no one is too rushed but there’s still lots to do, I love it here. All in all, it’s a fantastic start.”
Satomi handing out free sushi to the huge crowd!
Satomi meeting the customer base –
lots of hungry tradies and students on day one!
The Richmond team ready to go. Hamilton partners Lei Shi (on left, with mask)
and Jack (second from left, front row) plus experienced manager
Yoshiaki from Christchurch (third from left, back row) came to lend a hand.
Satomi (second from left, back row) had plenty of support!
Director Nick Katsoulis was thrilled at the successful opening, commenting that
“This is our first store in the upper South Island, so it’s very important for the company. Nelson locals have been asking us to open for years. We’re very glad to finally be here and so grateful for the support. It was a phenomenal customer response on the first day, it was our best standalone shop opening day ever in terms of sales volume!
Following Papamoa and Napier Onekawa, it’s yet another successful provincial shop opening. So many of NZ’s regional centres are very vibrant, and we’re keen to be part of growth of regional NZ moving forward.”
Finally, General Manager of Property Oliver Shaw was pleased and relieved at how the smoothly opening had gone, noting that
“We’re very happy with the new shop, it’s really a brilliant location. It’s in the new Countdown complex which opened June 2021, on a busy roundabout, and near plenty of other major drawcards. It’s by a major sports complex with heaps of people coming and going for netball, hockey, cricket and swimming, plus near three schools. Richmond is a growing area, with lot of new subdivisions and young families moving in. All of this ties in with the St. Pierre’s brand values of healthy, affordable food and our core customer base.
The shop design represents our current design language – it’s bright, modern and inviting. Everyone is and will feel welcome. We’re very happy indeed with the Richmond shop.”
We believe that the Richmond shop will soon be a landmark in this growing but relaxed area. It really is a special milestone for the company. If you’re visiting Nelson or just passing through, do stop by and see Satomi and her team – see you there soon!
Busy busy all day – lots of students especially!
The sushi (and fun hats) giveaway that helped draw the big crowd!
The weather was simply stunning for opening day!
It’s easy to see why Nelson is such as popular holiday and lifestyle destination 🙂
Glen McCabe
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