The former ‘ghost’ supermarket site in Llangollen has finally opened up as an Aldi store.

The site, which was built by Sainsbury’s, has been vacant since construction was completed in early 2016. Sainsbury’s themselves had pulled out of the store whilst construction at the former Dobson and Crowther printers site was ongoing.

The site also houses a Home Bargains.

Six-time gold medallist Jason Kenny, husband to Olympic cyclist Laura Trott (now Kenny), officially opened the store last Thursday by addressing customers with an inspiring speech and cutting through the ribbon.

Jason handed out shopping bags full of fresh Super 6 fruit and veg to the first 30 people in the queue, before meeting, greeting and taking selfies with customers.

Jason Kenny said: “It was a great morning – there was a real buzz at the store and it was brilliant to see the store staff so excited to welcome their community into the store. The Super 6 bags went down really well with customers too!

“The support from Aldi for myself and the rest of Team GB has been superb – being able to pop into (the) store and pick up lots of lovely fresh fruit and veg every week really helps me to stay on track with my training regime.”

The local economy has been boosted by the creation of 25 new jobs and the store is currently recruiting for store apprentices and assistants. Information and applications for all roles at Aldi can be found via www.aldirecruitment.co.uk/stores.

Aldi store manager Joe Leahy said: “The team and I really enjoyed meeting new customers this morning, and we look forward to welcoming many more in the coming months. Shoppers really took advantage of the great deals we had on offer, which was great to see.

“We’d like to thank Jason for his support – it was a great moment for our new shoppers to meet such a successful, high profile Team GB athlete.”

Aldi is open 8am until 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am-4pm on Sunday.