By Joseph Pratt
West Portsmouth IGA has celebrated its customer base and community for years by offering an annual event for customer appreciation and the children surrounding their area called the IGA Customer Appreciation and Kids Day. The event often comes every July, bearing free food, inflatable attractions, games, and more. This year’s event is July 10.
Westside IGA is a family owned full-service grocery store serving the community of West Portsmouth. The business owners say their store is perfect for anyone who is seeking friendly “hometown” service, freshly cut meats, freshly picked produce, and store made deli and bakery goods.
The business has been around for 13 years and has welcomed customers for an appreciation day each of those years. It has also recently expanded to the Minford area.
David Smith is the owner of West Portsmouth IGA and enjoys giving back to the community that gives his store their business.
“We like to give back to the community. They support us and as long as that happens, we will always do our best top support them,” Smith explained. “The children love it. They even go on to say that it is better than the fair.”
Surrounding businesses on the IGA strip also join in on the fun. Smith said he is unsure of how much involvement they will have, but does expect them to be present at the event.
Minford IGA also celebrated its customer base with the same type of event just this past week, which Smith said went very well, even with inclement weather. Smith explained that the rural areas that his businesses are in don’t often see as many activities for kids as the city does, and he enjoys providing the opportunity for the children of those areas to have fun and let loose.
“I had people coming up to me at Minford saying that there isn’t anything like what I offered in that area,” Smith said. “It made us feel really good to bring that to the area with no cost to the parents.”
West Portsmouth IGA will be celebrating its Customer Appreciation and Kids Day on July 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“We just want to thank our customers for their continuously loyal support,” Smith said. “We really enjoy being a part of the community and want to benefit our customers.”
Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.
