Oliver’s, which launched a partnership with Oxfam in early November, initially donated $10,000 to Oxfam and agreed to donate $5000 each time it opened a store.

Oxfam is dedicated to tackling poverty around the world.

Oliver’s Real Food founder and CEO Jason Gunn and mayor Peta Pinson cut a ribbon on November 16 to mark the highway service centre store’s opening.

Some 21 staff members are employed at the flagship store.

Mr Gunn said Port Macquarie had long been a destination site for travellers.

“For us, it has always been a special location, because when we first opened Oliver’s on the highway at Wyong, we got a lot of people from Port using that as a stop,” he said.

That support has continued.

Mr Gunn said the question about when Oliver’s would open a store at Port Macquarie had been the most popular question asked.

He said the Port Macquarie store was the model for the future of Oliver’s.

“This building is a concept design that we felt would present the brand and the culture of the brand very well,” Mr Gunn said.

“It’s very open, it’s very clean and it’s very welcoming.”

Mr Gunn said creating 20-odd jobs in the area would have a positive impact but the social impact of having a healthy food choice would be the significant impact.

The business looks to use local suppliers and local produce wherever possible.

“We will be looking to build relationships with local growers,” Mr Gunn said.

Port Macquarie marks the 25^th Oliver’s store.

Gateway (Port Macquarie) highway service centre manager and project manager Graham Linn, speaking for the owners of the Gateway (Port Macquarie) highway service centre, welcomed the arrival of Oliver’s Real Food to the centre.

“Negotiations with Oliver’s started over a decade ago and it has been an enjoyable journey for both parties to arrive at this point,” he said.

The centre’s owner would also like to congratulate and thank the development team which was well led by multi-discipline consultants King + Campbell, civil and building contractor Lianda Constructions and lead sub-contractors Wallis Plumbing and PJO Electrical, all locally-based businesses.