Favourite food store diversifies

The Centex Market has fresh fruit, veggies, bread made on site and specialty foods—and you can get fuel there, too

Jill Bentley-Lobban has just added baked-on-the-premises bread to her product line at the Kimberley Centex market. — Photo courtesy Jill Bentley-Lobban

There’s always something interesting and delicious going on at the Kimberley Centex fuel station and market, and since we last did a story about it, the owners have made some important additions. Pat Bentley talked to us about the recent changes that her daughter, Jill Bentley-Lobban, has brought to the store.

Did you have a busy summer?

We were up to more than 30 staff at one point, which in itself is a challenge.

What did you need all those people for?

Jill has put a bakery into the store so we can produce our own fresh, healthy bread with no additives, and we’re getting lots of positive feedback from our customers about that.

Your place is always so busy—why the expansion?

Jill’s focus has always been good customer service. She especially likes to find those rare products that customers want. For example, she has brought in cricket flour bars for those customers who are interested in this growing trend and she is also putting in a juice bar that will hopefully be on the go by the beginning of October. She has a cold-press juicer, a wheatgrass juicer and centrifuge juicers.

What does your busy daughter do when she has some free time?

Her passion outside of work is her animals—her dogs and horses.