THREE of the Island’s largest retailers will close their food shops tomorrow, it has been confirmed.
CI Coop, Waitrose and SandpiperCI (which operates Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Iceland and Checkers Xpress) have announced that their branches across Jersey will close from 7pm this evening.
Coop supermarkets and pharmacies and all SandpiperCI stores are expected to re-open at midday on Thursday, while Waitrose plans to re-open its stores on Friday.
The impending arrival of Storm Ciarán means the Channel Islands is due to be pummelled with wind gusts of up to 90mph tonight and tomorrow morning, and the government has advised Islanders to stay at home.
CI Coop has now also confirmed that its food stores in Jersey and Guernsey will close at 7pm this evening and open again from 12pm to 7pm on Thursday.
Their pharmacies will close at their normal time today, open at 12pm on Thursday and close at their normal time.
Online deliveries will be carried out between 12pm and 7pm on Thursday, however, this is subject to change depending on official advice.
A statement from the retailer further said: “CI Coop is continuing to monitor Storm Ciarán very closely and following advice from the Met Office.
“We want to reassure Islanders that we’ll be taking all necessary precautions, and our colleague and customer safety is our priority.”
Waitrose has also decided to close its three Jersey stores in St Brelade, St Helier and St Saviour at the earlier time of 7pm this evening. These will remain closed tomorrow.
A statement said: “We plan to re-open at 8am on Friday 3 November, subject to weather conditions.”
It continued: “This isn’t a decision we’ve taken lightly but it’s the right thing to do to make sure our customers and Partners are safe.
“We’re very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but would like to thank all our customers for their understanding and our Partners for their support.”
Announcing its closures until midday tomorrow, a spokesperson from Sandpiper CI said: “Opening times will remain under review to ensure staff and customers always remain safe.”
