Colin Johnson and his stock at Johnson's Grocery, Christchurch, New Zealand. Roy Sinclair

Johnson's Grocery

Posted by Roy Sinclair in Central South Island Travel Stories
Wednesday, 30 August 2006

Some things just don’t change.

Stepping inside Johnson’s Grocery in Christchurch is to delightfully step back in time. This is how grocery shopping used to be. Stilton cheese is sliced from the block with a wire for a nice clean cut. Sweets are weighed out from jars on the counter, and the grocer climbs up and down a ladder to locate something from the thousands of items neatly stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves.

But this attractive old-fashioned grocery also offers tempting items difficult to find elsewhere, including chocolate from Switzerland, escargots and truffles from France, haggis and whisky marmalade from Scotland, pomegranate molasses from Lebanon, and locally made quince conserve and lime pickle.

And when customers enter the shop, carefully sidestepping stock stacked on the floor, they are greeted and served by the grocer. He will be wearing the traditional white apron.

These days the grocer will be Colin Johnson. His grocery is the last of six or more that existed along Colombo Street between Peterborough Street and Cathedral Square. And Johnson’s is possibly the last remaining grocery shop of its kind in New Zealand.

The grocery opened in 1911 as Leigh and Co. Colin’s father, Stan, bought the business in 1949. Colin has worked in the grocery since 1957 and says he has enjoyed every day.

"I’m just finding out where all the things are," he laughs.

"We just kept things the way they were in the old style and we have become a curiosity, even a tourist attraction. School children are often brought here to see how people used to shop.

"And photographic students from the Polytechnic find the grocery an attractive subject."

He says he is lucky the grocery has been able to survive. The reason is partly owing to the abundance of speciality items sourced world-wide. Yet he has never had to leave the store to source products. "They have always come to us one way or another."

Supermarkets have always offered a lot of help in referring customers. "That always gives a lot of satisfaction," he says.

On the wall a framed print is typical of old-style grocery stores. A kindly grocer is offering a kid a biscuit from an Arnott’s tin. It was given to Colin from a customer who found it in Australia. Yet, with the tram going past the window it might have been Johnson’s.

"Yes, I remember the trams going along Colombo Street when I worked for my father after school. We also had a black cat in the 1950s. He had a really shiny coat. People would frequently call into the grocery just to see the cat."

Colin enjoys welcoming tourists into the shop. "They don’t have to buy anything and they are always welcome to take photographs."

But who could resist buying something from a shop that everyday looks as if it has been done out for Christmas? Johnson’s has a lot of English teas and confectionery, Turkish delights for Turkey, and the always popular dark chocolates.

These days Colin does not deliver groceries to customers, although an old delivery bicycle, reminiscent of one ridden by Granville in "Open All Hours," can be seen on the pavement outside.

And he no longer weighs out the sugar and flour.

Despite the appearance of the grocery remaining unchanged for the best part of a century, Colin has made one significant concession to modernity – Eftpos.

"Yes we do Eftpos and credit card. Without those, a retail business would quickly go broke," he laughs.

Johnson’s Grocery, at 787 Colombo Street, Christchurch, is open Mondays to Saturdays.

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