Millwood Budgens in Cam: More Choice, Local Produce and Convenience

It has been a busy few weeks at Millwood and when we opened the doors to the new Millwood Budgens at the end of August, it marked both the end of months of planning and refurbishment and the beginning of something new for a business that has been part of Cam for 60 years.

Since then, thousands of journeys have continued to bring people through the Millwood forecourt, but there is now much more waiting beyond the pumps. Customers have been exploring the new store, discovering a much wider range and, in some cases, seeing a very different Millwood from the one they were used to, which was exactly the point.

More Than a Petrol Station Shop

For many people around Cam and Dursley, Millwood has always been associated with the Shell forecourt, and that remains an important part of the business. But one of the biggest aims of the move to Budgens was to make much more of the shop itself.

The refurbishment has given us the space to offer a far broader selection of groceries and everyday essentials, alongside fresh and hot food, Costa coffee, snacks and drinks, frozen food and a larger off licence.

The aim is to make Millwood somewhere local customers can rely on for more of their everyday shopping, with a strong emphasis on quality, convenience, local produce and the kind of useful range that makes it easier to pick up what you need in one stop.

Just as importantly, the changes build on something that has always mattered at Millwood: friendly, familiar service. The shop may look very different and there is considerably more to discover, but it remains a local business serving the surrounding community as well as people passing through.

So if you have only noticed the new signs while driving past, it is well worth coming inside and seeing how much has changed.

New Things to Discover

One of the enjoyable parts of the first few weeks has been introducing customers to products and ranges that were not previously available at Millwood. Among them is COOK, with a great selection of frozen meals for one and two, giving customers another option when they want a proper meal without having to start from scratch.

There is a much bigger choice across other parts of the store too, from chilled and frozen food to snacks, drinks, household essentials and everyday groceries, while the off licence has also been expanded with a wider selection of wines, beers, ciders and other drinks.

Having more choice, though, is not simply about filling the shelves with more products. We also want to use the extra space and the Budgens range to introduce customers to things they may not have tried before, while still stocking the familiar products people expect to find at their local convenience store.

Keeping the Local in Millwood

That matters particularly when it comes to local produce.

The refurbishment may have changed the appearance of Millwood, but becoming a Budgens has not changed our interest in supporting good local and regional businesses. In fact, it is something we want to talk about much more, especially because some of those relationships go back a long way.

Woodland Valley Free Range Eggs, produced by Dave Bick at his farm near Dursley, have been supplied to Millwood for around 15 years, and when Dave first began supplying local businesses, Millwood was his first customer. Today his farm has around 5,000 free-range hens and supplies businesses across the area, but those eggs still make the short journey to the shelves at Millwood.

You’ll also find products from Gloucestershire businesses including Frocester Farm Fayre and Winstones Ice Cream, alongside other British producers and growers. These are not relationships we want to hide away on a shelf label, so over the coming months we will be visiting some of the people who supply Millwood, finding out more about what they produce and sharing their stories here and on our social media.

The People Behind Millwood

Of course, a local business is not made local simply by what it sells. It is also about the people behind the counter and the people who walk through the door.

Some of the Millwood team have been here for many years, including deputy manager Reece, who has worked at Millwood for 12 years and says one of the best parts of the job is the people he gets to know.

“I enjoy the people most. You get everyone coming through. Regulars, builders, families. I also like being someone people know and can rely on.”

That relationship with regular customers can easily be lost when talking about new shop fittings, bigger ranges and refurbishment work, but it is an important part of what we wanted to keep.

As Reece puts it:

“We’re not trying to be just a petrol station shop. We’re a proper local convenience store.”

We could not really put it better ourselves.

60 Years On, and Still Changing

Millwood first opened in Cam on 25 April 1966, when much of the land surrounding the site was still fields. Cam and Dursley have changed enormously since then, and Millwood has changed with them.

There have been different buildings, different shop brands, major redevelopments and countless changes to what customers need from a local store, and the move to Budgens is simply the latest chapter.

A few weeks after opening, we are still settling into the new shop, learning what customers like and looking at what we can do next. There will be more new products to discover, more local suppliers to introduce and more stories from the people who have made Millwood what it is.

So if you have already visited the new store, thank you, and if you have driven past the new Millwood Budgens but have not yet ventured beyond the forecourt, come in and have a look. There is rather more inside than there used to be.

Visit Millwood Budgens in Cam

Millwood Budgens is at Millwood Services, Draycott, Cam, Dursley GL11 5DH. Visit the Millwood Budgens website if you haven’t already. We’re open 7 days a week from 7am to 10pm, with the Budgens convenience store alongside our Shell forecourt, car wash and other everyday facilities.

Tell Us What You Think

If you’ve visited the new Millwood Budgens, we’d really appreciate you taking a moment to leave us a review. Your feedback helps other local people know what to expect and helps us continue improving the store.