THOUSANDS of shoppers descended on a city's new food store to get the North-East's first taste of the Waitrose experience, yesterday.

Queues formed prior to the opening of the transformed former Safeway store, in Durham's Millburngate Shopping Centre, now undergoing its own re-branding to become The Gates.

The 18,880 sq ft premises, which only closed as Safeway on October 29, re-opened under the Waitrose banner, the food store arm of the John Lewis Partnershp, following a major facelift.

It becomes Waitrose's 171st store and its most northerly, after Harrogate and Otley, in Yorkshire, which opened last year.

Branch manager David Wheeler said work went on round the clock to have the store looking the part for the 8.30am ribbon cutting.

He said: "Effectively they have turned over the store in just a fortnight. The transition involved 200 people on site with work going on 24-hours a day for 14 days.

"Judging by the first day crowds, it's been well worth the effort. We seem to have a mix of a lot of our previous customers, plus a lot of people who have specifically come to have a look."

Mr Wheeler said first-day sales would probably be more than double those of a comparable weekday at Safeway.

He was among the 80-plus staff to transfer from Safeway, with only one employee opting for voluntary redundancy.

They were joined by partners from John Lewis's Newcastle store to help the opening day run smoothly.

Although a national chain, Waitrose has developed primarily in the south, attracting a reputation for the quality of its fare, albeit at the upper end of the market.

The company was keen to spread northwards and, as part of the enforced sale of stores following the Morrisons' takeover of the Safeway group, has now acquired 24 new premises.

It has enabled Waitrose to gain a foothold in the North, with the latest five acquisitions including the Durham store.

Waitrose was not the only new premises opening to the public for the first time, at The Gates, yesterday.

It was also the first day's trading for Passion for Perfume, the 19th in a growing national cosmetics chain, in the centre's former Bookless fruit and veg shop.