Retailers announced at Melbourne Square

By Jack Hayes In what will be music to the ears of many locals, Southbank will welcome its first full-line supermarket with the opening of Woolworths at Melbourne Square on December 10. Following a series of tenant signings at the award-winning Melbourne Square precinct, Woolworths Southbank will be joined by a number of food and retailers due to open mid-December. Developer OSK Property has confirmed all available tenancies have been filled at the $2.8 billion project, which will include a new real estate office spanning a total of 6250 sqm across the podium level of the precinct. OSK Property’s sales and marketing director Scott Jessop said the businesses would add another layer to Southbank’s diverse restaurant mix, giving plenty of choice to Melbourne Square residents and workers, future Hilton Hotel guests, as well as the broader Southbank community. “By early next year, Melbourne Square will be a vibrant and bustling area of our city. We are in the final stages of construction of stage one, which delivers an integrated lifestyle precinct to Southbank,” Mr Jessop said. “These retailers will be located on the podium above our public park and will elevate the precinct experience for our residents and visitors. It won’t be long until we have people grabbing a coffee or sandwich to enjoy in the park – sprawled on the grass in the sun.” He said the retail mix is designed to cater for residents and local workers, providing a range of quick café style eats along with a new office for MSQ Property. “Melbourne Square is underpinned by a lot of strong retail fundamentals – not just the foot traffic from the residents in the development, but also the population across Southbank and the eventual office workers who will work in the precinct,” Mr Jessop said. “Southbank has been underserviced in a lot of regards, and the retail market has been quick to recognise this and capitalise on the opportunity at Melbourne Square.” Retailers confirmed at the precinct include: Espresso Bar International, a premium baked pastries and barista-made coffeehouse overlooking the newly-unveiled Kavanagh St park; Pizza Pantelleria, specialising in woodfire pizza and fresh pasta; Aqua Fish and Chips, serving up deliciously fried and grilled seafood along with other Australian classics; Golden Bunny by Tho Tho, the third iteration of the much-loved Southeast Asian institution which first opened their doors on Victoria St in 1989; and Alleyway Kitchen, an authentic Chinese eatery known for its flavour-packed value for money menu options and broad spice spectrum suitable for all tastebuds. Accompanying the two-level 4300 sqm Woolworths and the broad range of eateries will be Southbank’s only BWS liquor store. Woolworths Melbourne Square’s new store manager Ragu Jeyachandran said, “we’re pleased to be able to offer a beautiful new store at Melbourne Square for our apartment residents and local customers that will make grocery shopping easy and more convenient”. “Being part of the local landscape is very important to us.  We have been able to create nearly 100 new jobs and we are also looking forward to supporting a number of community groups in the area over the coming months”. With two levels of the latest in retail concepts and features, including convenient “Scan&Go” technology, Mr Jeyachandran said the Woolworths store team was looking forward to providing Southbank locals with this new and exciting supermarket offering.  The “Scan&Go” service allows customers to scan items with their phone as they shop and and then pay for them in-app, at the dedicated “Scan&Go” checkouts. Among other key features at Woolworths Melbourne Square, customers can expect a full production bakery, sushi counter and an in-store meat specialist to help decide on cuts of meats and how to prepare, cook and serve a delicious meal.  The bakery will feature artisanal bread loaves and a new range of premium stone-baked breads and made to order cakes for any special occasion. The new store will also offer a range of fish and seafood, perfect for a family feast.  All fresh fish can be paired with the new and free “Bag and Bake” offering which has a number of marinade options• For more information visit: melbournesquare.com.au