Jamie Wardle reckons he has his aunty to thank for a grocery career that’s taken him all the way to Stewart Island.
When he was 12, his aunty, a supermarket grocery manager, brought him and his cousin into her store before Christmas to help unpack stock and tidy the shelves.
Supermarkets weren’t his career plan yet, as he went on to study a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Canterbury, specialising in accounting and tax, while continuing to work in supermarkets.
By the time Wardle was halfway through his degree, he was beginning to realise the supermarket floor suited him better than a desk.
After university, Wardle returned to Nelson and, following a three-month stint at PAK’nSAVE Richmond, headed back to New World Stoke, where he had first worked as a grocery assistant in 2009.
Over the next 13 years, he worked his way from grocery buyer and duty manager to assistant grocery manager, grocery manager and eventually store manager, learning from the different owner-operators he worked with along the way.
What started with helping out as a 12-year-old has come full circle as Wardle has taken ownership of his first supermarket, Four Square Stewart Island.
It won’t be Wardle's first taste of life on the island. He spent two weeks working at Four Square Stewart Island in February 2025, helping then owner-operators Tim and Kate Manson during the busy summer period.
The welcome from locals and the store team helped convince him it was somewhere he could see himself. Having already spent time in the store made moving south feel less daunting.
Most of the team Wardle worked alongside during his February stint are still at Four Square Stewart Island, giving him some familiar faces as he settles in.
Additionally, Wardle credited fellow Foodstuffs owner-operator Glenn Anderson with taking him under his wing early on, while previous New World Stoke owners Glen and Mel Steele helped get the ball rolling on his ownership journey, giving him opportunities to lead and develop.
Current New World Stoke owner-operator Brendon Rae also backed Wardle's ambitions, giving him opportunities to work in other stores and complete courses to build his experience.
As the island’s main grocery store, Four Square has an important job, and Wardle is looking forward to becoming part of the community and learning what locals want from their Four Square.
Beyond a pub and a handful of cafés, he said, grocery options on Stewart Island are limited, making the store central to everyday life.
“I just want to have a good store for the locals. I want to support them, keep them shopping with us, keep them happy and give them what they want,” he said.
While the store is locally owned and operated, being part of the Foodstuffs South Island co-operative has given it the backing and scale of the wider co-op. That combination of local ownership and collective strength helps a Four Square in a remote community like Stewart Island provide the groceries locals need.
