Among the most notable results of the SFr 11 million are the new perfume department upstairs, a new Kiosk upstairs, a completely new layout witha counterclockwise flow through the aisles, a gem of a wine department with a greatly expanded selection, better-presented bakery and cheese sections, and two elegant new lifts serving the basement level. Less obvious but equally good are the new, larger carts which run much more smoothly over the new floor tiling, improved parking with significantly better lighting for winter evenings, and a slick recycling area. We do have a few minor gripes: (1) why did they take out the escalators? (there's probably a good reason for that so if someone knows please share by clicking "Comments" below);

(2) you can no longer pop in for a quick sandwich as they are now downstairs next to the fruit; you have to line up with the weekly shoppers even when you've got just a single purchase (no express lane); (3) why must Coop force its employees to sit on top of each other at the cash registers; couldn't they have saved a few of the 90 additional sqaure meters for the staff so they smile more? And (4) what's with the old checkout machines and huge television hanging from the ceiling at the entrance -- didn't the interior designers ever hear of flatscreens? Those small points notwithstanding, GstaadLife recommends taking the time to learn the new layout because it's spacious, elegant (as a grocery store can be), and simply more convenient to have white label and brand goods in the same store (Migros/Denner, are you listening?). A renovation of the Coop restaurant upstairs is also planned.