A brand new Albert Heijn supermarket should be located on the site where Hotel Erkelens previously stood sometime in 2025. This means that customers in Rolde no longer have to go to Assen ‘for something small’.
At least that is the aim, says supermarket manager Jort Hartsuiker. He knows better than anyone how much a larger store is needed. “Previously, the current supermarket was a PLUS. That actually went very well. But when it became an Albert Heijn, the number of customers increased even more. We are currently running out of space.”
From a 900 square meter supermarket with a small warehouse, the total retail area will soon be 1500 to 1600 square meters. “And we will soon go from 50 to more than 100 parking spaces,” adds Hartsuiker.
At the drop-in evening at MFC De Boerhoorn in Rolde, the reactions were mainly positive. A few preferred to see the site – right in the center – used for housing. “It is the ideal place for apartments for the elderly,” says the elderly man. A local resident calls out. “Well, I’d rather not! We live behind the supermarket and I don’t want people to look into our garden.”
Zuckerman laughs a moment later. “Everyone has their own opinion, of course, but I can imagine that if you live next to the store, you are not looking for an apartment complex.” At a larger supermarket then? “I think this design is very appropriate in Rolde,” says Hartsuiker. “It is designed as an old farmhouse with a barn attached to it.”
With extra parking spaces and a different route for supplies, it should become ‘fairly quiet’ around the supermarket. “We will soon have a supermarket with spacious parking spaces and lots of greenery around the store. I really think it is progress,” says Hartsuiker.
In any case, the new supermarket will give local employment a significant boost. “We currently work with 90 employees, which will soon increase to 150 to 160,” Hartsuiker calculates. “So yes, a lot of staff is needed.”
It is not yet possible to say when the shovel will be in the ground at this early stage in the process. Albert Heijn does aim to have a new supermarket by 2025. “We will remain open during construction,” says Hartsuiker. “We will close for a few days at most around the opening.”