Residents in Goonellabah now have some tentative opening dates for the new Rivers megastore and the Reject Shop superstore as construction and shop fit-outs continue.

Rivers is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 while the Reject Shop is not far behind on Thursday, March 31.

It has been a long time since the closure of the Target Country store in January 2021 with the initial opening dates scheduled for October/November last year but then the Omicron wave hit and there were hard lockdowns and border closures.

This caused havoc with workmen and supplies according to Justin Clarke the Asset Manager of McGees Property the group that own The Village Goonellabah.

"This is one of the hardest, toughest times for a project to happen," said Justin who is based in South East Queensland.

"Among all the chaos of COVID in the second half of last year we found some local heroes that really helped us out and I want to acknowledge them."

"Our builder Derek Gellatly and his people were outstanding as was Dave Russell and his team. Dave is a tenant with the laundromat in The Village and for him to find good reliable tradespeople and get on with our work was brilliant. I want to thank them both sincerely," Justin said.

Being stuck in S/E Queensland has made the approval process difficult for Justin and his team, "But I am pleased to say that our landing gear is out and we are on track to close out this journey."

As you can see by the photos Rivers is completing its shop fit-out while the Reject Shop is still a blank canvas.

The Rivers loading dock is being installed as well as two fire exits and an upgrade of the fire system while the back of house amenities for the Reject Shop is being finalised.

When open day does arrive, the Reject Shop will be a superstore which means it will stock Tesco products. Tesco is the giant UK supermarket retailer that has been operating since 1924 and is in thirteen countries around the world. This means a head to head battle with Aldi for cheap grocery items and everyday items.

The Rivers megastore has a large pace of about 1200m2 so we can look forward to a large range of apparel. Rivers online items include big brands such as including Tommy Hilfiger, Ugg, Levi's and Adidas as well as the traditional River's range.