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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Lifestyle
James Martin McCarthy

Former NI supermarkets that had the best deals

When we go to do our grocery shopping, chances are we head to one of the many major chains such as Sainsbury's, Tesco or Asda, but before these giants arrived in Northern Ireland, many local supermarket chains offered some of the best deals around.

Before the arrival of loyalty point schemes, Northern Ireland's supermarket chains were offering collectable stamps for items such as crockery to reward their local customers.

With memorable jingles, these stores may not be on our streets anymore, but they will forever hold a place in our hearts.

Check out our list of former Northern Irish supermarkets below and let us know your memories in the comments

Stewart's

Stewart's Supermarkets were eventually purchased by Tesco in 1997 (YouTube)

'No one delivers freshness like Stewart's' is a line which is ingrained on many memories across Northern Ireland. The chain are remembered for their remarkable giveaways to loyal customers including chances to win holidays when you shopped in store. Having 19 branches across NI, the brand was eventually purchased by Tesco in 1997 and became the company's first major venture into Northern Ireland.

Crazy Prices

Crazy Prices Marketing Director Jim Megaw became a household name (YouTube)

Crazy Prices had nine stores across NI and their Marketing Director Jim Megaw became a household name after featuring prominently in their television adverts. With the jingle 'that's great, that's ace, that sets the pace, that's good, that's Crazy Prices!' the chain was famous for their weekly 'mega deals'. Crazy Prices stores were sold to Tesco alongside Stewarts in 1997.

Curley's

Curley's originally opened on the Glen Road in West Belfast as a small fruit and veg shop in 1969. The store eventually moved to the former Lucozade factory on the Falls Road which was later demolished to make way for the Kennedy Centre. The brand also operated a supermarket in the Oak's Shopping Centre in Dungannon alongside a number of off licences. The supermarkets were sold to Sainsbury's in 2008 and the off licences were sold to Wineflair in 2015.

Wellworth's

Wellworth's operated across Northern Ireland until 1997 when the business was split into three. Smaller stores were taken over by the Musgrave Group and were eventually rebranded as SuperValu while larger stores became either Safeway stores or Marks and Spencer.

West Side Stores

West Side Stores on the Donegall Road (Hugh Finnegan)

West Side Stores was located on the Donegall Road in West Belfast, opposite the Park Centre. The store was famous for their 'yellow packs' and was eventually sold to Tesco in 1997 alongside Stewart's and Crazy Prices. The store has since been demolished and replaced with a housing development.

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