Staff at the new Hunt’s Grocery at the site of the of Hayward’s market in Warwick worked feverishly on last minute preparations in time to open this morning.And for businessman Nelson Hunt, the opening also marks the passing of the mantle to the next generation as daughter Stacey Janelle Gibbons takes the helm at the new grocery.Ms Gibbons, who had been working flat out in recent weeks training new staff, and overseeing the stocking of store shelves, said it has been a lot of hard work, but that it was worth it.“It’s a store for the Warwick community and it’s definitely needed, especially for people who don’t have transportation or small children, it is definitely convenient,” said Ms Gibbons.Interviews were conducted last month and ten new employees were hired to work in the Warwick store which features a new deli.A new venture for Mr Hunt’s chain of businesses, a pharmacy, is expected to be operational by next month.The store will be open seven-days-a-week until 9pm and on Sunday’s from 8am to 3pm. The store will open on Bermuda Day from 9am to 2pmMs Gibbons noted that staff were scheduled to work late into the night to finalise preparations for the opening. Fresh produce and other items were scheduled to be delivered beyond normal business hours last night.She also extended a warm thank you to all those who helped to get the store ready over the past several months. “It has been a lot of hard work, we have been working flat out but the opening day is finally here,” Ms Gibbons said.Once operations are underway she said an official opening will be planned at a later date.Ms Gibbons is the daughter of Janet and Nelson Hunt, who also owns and operates Hunt’s Food & Supplies and Hunt’s Sanitation Services.Mr Hunt agreed to reopen White & Sons’s Hayward’s store four months after it closed in August 2012.In an interview with this newspaper in December, he said: “Hayward’s is an iconic mainstay in the Warwick community. We needed to secure this lease to protect our other business and we always wanted to be on the retail side of the food business.”White & Sons’ main store, further west on Middle Road closed on August 16, 2012, after 88 years in business. Sister stores Hayward’s (which had been in White & Son’s hands for about a decade) and Whites Southside weer ordered to shut down following a court order.