AN INDEPENDENT shop in Winterslow has been named in a top 100 list for the second year in a row. 

Central Stores has been placed in the Top 100 Stores list in the UK and Ireland, by the Independent Achievers Academy(IAA) which rates independent stores on a number of factors including community involvement, hygiene and cleanliness, quality of produce, customer appeal, customer service, environmental practices and more.

It is the second year in a row that Winterslow has been named a Top 100 Store. 

Store owner Pav Garcha has also recently won an award for Best Convenience Store in the South West England Prestige Awards 2020/21.

The selection process for the Top 100 Stores, from 5,000 stores assessed in the UK and Ireland, included mystery shopping, interviews, staff interviews, and document analysis.

Pav said: “Our mission is to become the best convenience store in Wiltshire.

"Our customer service is five-star. Everyone gets 100 per cent attention and care throughout the whole sales process, from greeting on entry, to helping on the sales floor, at the tills, packing and helping out to their vehicle and so on.”

Pav prides himself in stocking local produce including grass-fed butchery from Parsonage Farm in Farley, Hopback beer from Salisbury and locally produced honey. 

He also has his own Central Stores wine label for Chilean wine. 

Pav added: “I believe we are the only convenience store in the UK to have their own label fine wine. We have regular wine tastings of our whole range of fine wines from all countries, open to all, and advertised on our Facebook page.”

Pav has had a 20-year career as a dentist and has run Winterslow Stores since he bought the store in August 2018.

The IAA Top 100 Independent Retailers can be found at betterretailing.com/top-100