Budget loose food retailer The Food Weighhouse is to target prime retail space with a new store format. It is investing £50,000 in a flagship store on a high street site in Stockton on Tees. The store, which opens in April, is twice the size of a standard Food Weighouse and will be the second in its portfolio to offer a café. A range of "loose" liquids ­ for example car wash and detergents ­ will boost the Weighouse mix of dried foods, cooking ingredients and sweets at the new store. The northern based chain already operates 70 outlets in secondary retail space from Glasgow to the Midlands. The existing format is geared towards the requirements of older price conscious shoppers. Managing director Paul Kettlewell said: "As we now cover most major towns we are introducing the new formula. We hope we will keep our existing customer base, and attract an additional clientele." He said The Food Weighouse will start to look at other prime sites after a two or three month trial of the new format in Stockton. However, it plans to stick to the north of England. Kettlewell said: "It makes sense from a logistics point of view to open stores in the north as our central warehouse is in Yorkshire." {{NEWS }}