THE Metro Supermarket reopened in its original location on the ground floor of the Ayala Center Cebu.
That made 22-year-old Jovelle Christine Lajera, a physical therapy intern, happy.
“I’ve been buying my groceries here even before the fire and it’s a huge help to me because it’s a walk away from my house,” she told SunStar Cebu.
The supermarket opened its doors to customers last Dec. 30.
Lajera, a native of Bohol, said not only is the new supermarket more pleasing to the eye, it offers more food choices.
“It’s bright and there’s a lot of space. Before the fire, it was very cramped. There are new stocks of imported products,” she said in Cebuano.
One year after
Another customer, Jo Bañez, a 32-year-old employee of a business process outsourcing company, echoed Lajera’s sentiment.
“Their fruit section is spacious and there are areas that are well-lighted now compared to before when it was dark. They also offer imported products,” she said in Cebuano.
Bañez also said the staff were courteous and accommodating.
“Diri ko mamalit kay mahal sa uban (I’ll buy my groceries here because it’s cheaper compared to other supermarkets),” she said.
The new supermarket offers different varieties of food items that are neatly stacked in rows that provide wider space for customers to move around.
From fruits to meat, the supermarket offers both homegrown and imported products.
Basement parking is also available.
It has been one year since fire engulfed Metro Ayala Department Store on Jan. 5, 2018.
The fire was declared out after more than 66 hours by the Bureau of Fire Protection 7.
After the fire, the Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. opened a smaller grocery outlet and pop-up stores around the mall.
It also recorded a 9.5-percent increase in retail sales and a P344-million profit in the first semester last year despite the fire.