With the awards to prove it, Scally's Centra in Tullamore is widely regarded as the best convenience store in Ireland. Renowned for its sumptuous selection of fresh foods - all of which are prepared in-store on a daily basis - the business is owned and overseen by Kilbeggan native Ben Scally. Not only is Ben a successful Westmeath man operating outside the county boundaries … he's also a keen supporter of both his local club and the Maroon & White. 

Around lunch time, Scally's Centra in Tullamore comes alive. It's a busy spot at the best of times, mind you, providing the local population with an exceptional grocery service, but the store really comes into its own when the town's workers, students, citizens and passers-by are feeling peckish. Serving up restaurant-quality food on the go, Scally's have tapped into a real niche in the market and their fresh produce is quite simply second to none. In terms of wholesome, mouth-watering goodness and sheer value for money, the warm and cold snacks and meals served up at the fresh food counter in Scally's are without equal.
There's a steady flow of traffic from breakfast time right through until late in the evenings, all eager to indulge in the fine food prepared by three dedicated in-store chefs. Ben Scally has gone above and beyond the call of duty on this one and Scally's Centra, Tullamore is renowned near and far as a result.
The Kilbeggan man took over the business in 1988, when he purchased the store from his cousins Eugene and Gerard Scally. Eugene moved to Clonakilty, County Cork, where they now run a very popular Super Valu outlet while Gerard operates a Centra outlet in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Ben also owns a second store in the Faithful County - Scally's Centra, Shinrone - which he started up four years ago.
For the past three years Scally's has featured in the Top Ten of the Centra Store of the Year Awards and it's easy to see why. From the ease of parking outside to the warm welcome once you enter, it's clear that there is something different about this store.
At ShelfLife's annual awards, Scally's Centra, Tullamore was named as the overall platinum winner and National Convenience Store of the Year 2010. The store stood out for the judges due to its extremely high standards of food hygiene, a competitive pricing policy and the very personal touch that is extended by the staff to all customers. Ease of access and free parking were also contributing factors.
The store also won the Gold Award in its size category of 2,000 to 4,000 square feet and the award for the Best Frozen Foods Department in the ShelfLife C-Store Awards.
Ben Scally has worked in retail all his life. He spent many years working for H Williams and Quinnsworth throughout the country. When he moved home to take over this store 23 years ago he was well used to the hard graft that a life in retail brings and thought little of travelling to Dublin at 3am three times a week to get fresh fruit and veg from the markets. That's the kind of hard-work, keen-service ethic upon which this business is built.
As a proud Westmeath man, the one-time Kilbeggan footballer (who lined out mainly at wing forward) was delighted to see Pat Flanagan's charges get off to an impressive start to the 2011 senior football season. The Lake County find themselves on the favourable side of the draw in Leinster this year and their mid-January wins over Dublin and DIT in the O'Byrne Cup had them up and running in a positive manner, though Ben was quick to concede that it was early days indeed and that the team will be measured on its performances during the summer:
"They've made a good start to the year and we're all optimistic with the new regime in place, but they have a bit to go yet. We won't be getting carried away. It would be fantastic if they could win a Leinster, but the championship is still a long way off so we'll just have to wait and see how they shape up."
Scally's Centra, Tullamore is a full-sized supermarket, comprising 4,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest Centra stores in the country as well as one of the best. Ben employs 50 people in his Tullamore store and 70 in total, so his contribution to the wellbeing of the local economy is almost inestimable. Scally's Centra, Tullamore underwent a major revamp ten years ago and is upgraded on an annual basis. It is a veritable one-stop shop for all your grocery needs, incorporating all the departments one associates with convenient and stress-free shopping, as well as a full off-licence and - as mentioned previously - the best fresh food counter anywhere in the midlands. Breakfasts, sandwiches, wraps, salads, cooked meats, freshly-prepared hot dinners … all are readily available in a matter of minutes.
All in all, despite the challenging times that are in it, Ben is pleased to report that Scally's Centra is performing exceptionally well: "Business is going well. We are fighting the recession strongly and business is buoyant at the moment. This is mainly down to our superb staff, capably led by store manager Fiona Leavy. Many of the staff members have been with us for years and they do a brilliant job. They have made the business what it is today and you couldn't fault them."
The Tullamore store is a very high achiever when it comes to awards, regularly picking up some of the most coveted accolades available to supermarkets in Ireland - the aforementioned 2010 National Convenience Store of the Year Award being a case in point. Over the years, it has collected several Centra awards as well as EIQA hygiene and excellence awards. Two years ago, it was also shortlisted for the ShelfLife Award for best convenience store in Ireland and went on to pick up both the silver and gold awards. These are distinction about which the proprietor and manager alike are especially proud.
The store is regularly in the running for Centra's own annual awards - no mean feat bearing in mind that there are almost 500 Centra stores located around the country! Indeed, at the time of writing, Scally's Centra, Tullamore was once more in the final ten for the Centra awards. "We continually strive to be better, to be the best, and I think the awards reflect this," Ben notes.
Of course, Tullamore isn't too far from the Westmeath border. So, does Ben get many of his fellow county folk into the store? "We get quite a bit of business from the Westmeath side, but we're very lucky to have a strong customer base from Offaly and Laois as well. A lot of people travel to our store because they like our standards and they like our food.
"We employ three excellent chefs and the store is known locally and by travellers for high-quality fresh food - cooked and ready-to-go. That side of the business has really taken off and they come in their droves for meals of all description. We have a varied menu and customers can get pretty much any meal they want."
As a GAA man, Ben was delighted last year when Centra was appointed as one of the main sponsors of the Association, coming on board as one of the official multi-sponsor of the All-Ireland SHC. "We're delighted that Centra has become one of the GAA's main partners and we're also pleased to be linked with all the local clubs here in the Tullamore area, all of whom we help out whenever we can," the Kilbeggan man concludes. Tweet

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