Closed Coles Blair Athol supermarket opens as Afghan Khurasan Supermarket IGA

BLAIR Athol residents were devastated last year when their only supermarket closed. Today, it reopened under a new banner reflecting its local community.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson (left) opens the Khurasan Supermarket in Blair Athol with owner Hanif Rahimi (second from right), son Mujtaba, 21, and wife, Kamela. Picture: Eugene Boisvert

• July last year: Blair Athol loses its only supermarket as Coles closes

BLAIR Athol once again has its own full-size supermarket, with a Coles that closed a year ago reopening today as an IGA featuring products from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

The new Khurasan Supermarket IGA was officially opened today with a free Afghan-style barbecue.

The closure of the Coles supermarket at the corner of Prospect Rd and Florence Ave caused consternation among local residents when it closed last July.

Those most upset were elderly, disabled or carless shoppers forced to walk more than 40 minutes to the next closest supermarket.

Afghanistan-born Hanif Rahimi set up the original, much smaller Khurasan Supermarket opposite Coles in 2012.

Customers line up for the free Afghan barbecue at Khurasan Supermarket in Blair Athol. Picture: Eugene Boisvert

Once Coles closed, he asked its landlord if he could move in and a year later he has.

“The main reason I tried to do this was across the road we had only Middle Eastern customers and I was thinking this was a Coles supermarket and a lot of local community and western people know this,” Mr Rahimi said.

“I thought, ‘why not join both together – eastern and western?’ and what’s we did.”

Khurasan is an old name for Central Asia.

As well as regular groceries supplied through IGA, Khurasan Supermarket sells a large range of halal products, specialty spices and lots and lots of rice.

The supermarket as it was under the Coles banner. It was previously a Bi-Lo.

Former Coles customer and Kilburn resident Tony Rybinskyj, who was at the grand opening, said it was “beautiful” to see the supermarket reopen.

“It makes it easier for the elderly residents to shop in Blair Athol, especially if you’ve got trouble walking,” Mr Rybinskyj said.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said he had lots of residents contact him after Coles closed last year, concerned about the distance they would have to travel for everyday shopping.

“Coles really let them down when they moved from here,” Mr Johanson said.

“As you can see from the turnout today, the community will support it because it’s a community business.”

The 20 staff at the supermarket speak a range of languages, including English, Farsi, Dari and Arabic.

The 34 staff who previously worked at Coles Blair Athol were offered jobs at the retailer’s Churchill Centre and Northpark outlets.