Toowoomba Region Mayor Geoff McDonald dropped into the IGA Local Grocer at Westbrook last week to congratulate the store on wins at a recent IGA conference.

IGA Local Grocer at Westbrook won the Small Fresh Award and went on to take out the Small Store of the Year Award for the IGA Queensland and Northern New South Wales region.

The Small Fresh Award covers products such a meat, fruit and vegetables.

Owners Shane and Tracy Smith, who also operate the large IGA supermarket at Pittsworth, were excited to accept the awards and credited the staff at the Westbrook store for their contribution to the success of the retail outlet.

The Westbrook retail store had also been nominated in the grocery category.

The achievement is significant given that there are 65 stores judged in the various categories and the Westbrook shop has been operating for only two-and-a-half years.

Since late last year the services offered at the IGA Local Grocer have expanded to include Lotto and other Golden Casket offerings.

It replaced an old Spar supermarket which had closed some time earlier leaving a gap in the local centre.

The store will now be among finalists in the national IGA Awards with winners to be announced during a function on the Gold Coast in July.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 14 March 2024.