The keenest customer-centric approach keeps O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam at the heart of the local community. As this exceptional and always-busy supermarket prepares for its 60th-anniversary celebrations, we touched base with store manager Paula Marques to discuss the close and precious relationships she fosters with staff, suppliers and customers alike.
O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam is unique amongst other large supermarkets as it’s more than just a brisk and modern grocery outlet delivering value, convenience, choice, freshness and service. From the moment one walks through the front door it’s apparent that there’s an inherent sense of belonging here that goes hand in hand with the store’s legacy of serving the local community for coming up on six decades.
Conscientious and perpetually-customer-focused store manager Paula Marques agrees that at O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam it’s all about community first and foremost – be that through serving an ever-expanding local customer base, supporting local organisations and events, partnering up with local suppliers or generating employment – both directly and indirectly – locally:
“It really is. Most of the customers we have are all local and everything is built around them. You want to look after your customers first and foremost and that starts with giving them the best possible shopping experience every time they enter the store. We pride ourselves on that and we see the store as part of the community.
“Sponsorships are obviously very important to us too and we like to get involved rather than just making a token gesture. So, with the local Tidy Towns, for example, they are amazing and do incredible work in keeping the roads, streets and footpaths clean and tidy. We put on a summer party and a Christmas party for them every year to acknowledge the wonderful work they are doing every day because they really are fantastic and we are proud to be associated with them as a sponsor.”
O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam has been serving the local community since 1967, giving them a legacy and tradition of continuous service that the modern-day multiples can only dream of.
“We want to use that occasion as an opportunity to give something back because everything that happens here is based around customers coming into the shop. If they don’t come in, then there is no business. The reality is that you won’t have a business without the loyalty and support of your customers, which is something we value greatly.”
The appreciation / affection O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam have for their customers is reflected in the extensive delivery service provided, which continues to take in townlands and homes located further and further from the town itself. “Every Thursday, we deliver as far west as Cong [in County Mayo] as there is no supermarket there. We continue to get more and more new customers every week.
“We’re delivering near and far and go above and beyond to make sure everyone is catered for. We’d have loads of older customers who aren’t up to speed with smart phones and apps and modern technology, but we want to make sure they don’t lose out on money-off vouchers, etc. So, we have created accounts to make sure that they all get their weekly discounts. We support them because they are the ones who make the supermarket what it is.”
Paula was shortlisted as a finalist in the ‘Large Supermarket Manager of the Year’ category at this year’s National Grocery Management Awards, which took place at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire on May 13th. Her colleague Ewelina Kaparek was a finalist in the ‘Supermarket – Delicatessen/Food to Go Manager of the Year’ category.
“To be honest, I’m not great with events like that and prefer to be in the background,” says the personable supermarket manager. “My main focus is my customers, my staff, teamwork and getting the job done. It would be great to take home an award like this as a reflection of the teamwork that keeps us going. Without the team, there’s no possibility of anything being done. We believe in doing it together and doing it right.
“Any time you are in the conversation for an industry award, it’s a reflection of the team. The teamwork ethos here is very strong and we have so many different nationalities here who all work together towards the same end goal: to provide the best service possible for our customers. We always say, ‘there’s no team like O’Toole’s team’.
“It would be really nice to bring that prize back to Tuam for the staff and all the hard work they do. It’s great to see that being recognised.”
Between part-time and full-time staff, O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam employs an in-house team of 143 people of all ages. “With the newer generation coming in there’s a perception that they don’t like hard work, but if you show patience and put the time in and train them properly, then you will get the desired results and they will show you what can be done. Everybody here is fantastic and it makes no difference what age they are.
“One of our butchers joined when he was 17 and is still here now at the age of 50. Everybody works together and we are proud to have such a varied and dynamic team.”
Paula has been manager at O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam for five years and enjoys the role immensely. “I love it. People ask me what’s the best part of the job and I always say it’s dealing with customers. I don’t just say that – I mean it. You’d have all different generations coming in every day, and some of them like to tell you their life stories, but I love that aspect of it, and we are here for them. We are here for all customers – the older generations value face-to-face interactions whereas a lot of younger customers like to come in and grab what they need and get out as quickly as possible. You have to make sure you are catering for both and everything in between.”
O’Toole’s Supervalu is quite simply an institution in Tuam. Having previously assisted his father with his travelling shop, the late Joe O’Toole sowed the seeds for O’Toole’s Super Valu Tuam when he started trading on his own from a small 900 sq ft shop on Bishop Street in 1967.
Fourteen years later, the founder bought a former bakery on Shop Street and now had space to build a new supermarket under the then fledgling Super Valu brand. To best serve the needs of customers from North Galway and even beyond, the store underwent significant extensions in 1992 and ’98. Today, the 25,000 sq ft premises stand as a towering, landmark retail premises in Tuam, encompassing the large Super Valu store, Palace Restaurant and an adjoining department/homeware store.
Fresh food is a major consideration in a modern supermarket and it’s fair to say it’s an area in which O’Toole’s SuperValu Tuam excels.
“Freshness is everything and in the in-store bakery we make everything from scratch. There’s a wonderful selection of in-store cakes and they can also be made to order for special occasions. Dijana and her team are brilliant, and they often get calls in the morning looking for cakes made at short notice and they would make those cakes. She could have 30 cake orders a day plus the counter display and the table display and she gets it done every day with a smile on her face.
“We take great pride in what we do, and the feedback is always excellent across all the fresh food departments,” Paula concludes. “Our butcher counter serves the only fresh meat and seafood offering in Tuam, while the bakery and deli – with hot and cold food to go – also attract locals who know they can get food and service that they can’t get anywhere else nearby.”
O’Toole’s Supervalu,
Bishop Street,
Tuam,
County Galway.
Tel: 093 24800
Facebook: www.facebook.com/otoolessupervalu
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/supervalu-o-toole
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 5 No 3, Autumn 2026
