There is a new grocery player in town, and is all about ‘locally sourced goodness’. That is the slogan of The Good Grocer, a brand new 7-day store that has just opened its doors to a welcoming community at Kohimarama Beach, on Tamaki drive.
Launched by successful hospitality company Hipgroup, the store would look perfectly at home in a neighbourhood of Rome, except that everything you see on the shelves is 100 percent NZ-grown or made. From freshly baked ciabatta and sourdough to freshly-churned house-made Milse gelato, nothing is imported.
The store includes an on-site butchery with mouth-watering meats, a delicatessen section displaying hand-crafted cured meats and salami, and a cheese cabinet with a great selection either made or sourced by their own cheesemaker. The produce section screams freshness too, with fruit and veggies coming from the company’s own farm in Kumeu.
According to Scott Brown, founder of Hipgroup, this new concept grocery is set to deliver a radically different shopping experience. “We want our customers to be able to enjoy the freshest and best quality seasonal produce our country has to offer,” said Brown. “The crops from our own farm will often arrive at the Good Grocer within 12-24 hours of being harvested, and if we don’t grow something or make it ourselves, it will come from farmers and suppliers with whom we have direct relationships.”
Busy consumers will certainly appreciate the store’s Good Meals, a range of pre-portioned meals that are designed to be assembled in less than 15 minutes.
To give shoppers the best possible in-store experience, self-service check-outs have been completely edged out in favour of quality face-to-face customer service. Staff can literally tell the story behind each and every one of the products.
“We want to change the way New Zealanders buy their groceries and provide them with the service and familiarity our grandparents once enjoyed at their local market,” said Brown. “You can think of us as a 7-day farmers’ market.”
