Retail

Serena Kirby. This December marks 40 years since the first Denmark Arts Market was held at Berridge Park. What started with just a handful of stallholders and a few locals casually playing music on the grass has grown into a regional drawcard that brings thousands of people to town on market days.

The Whiporie shop closed three months ago and left the community having to travel to Casino or Grafton for supplies. On Monday it reopens with new owners. Dianne and her husband Shaun Ashen live in West Bungawalbin. They lost their home in the 2019 bushfires and have since rebuilt. They were looking for an investment property when they saw the shop at Whiporie.

Emma Pritchard. The streets of Ulmarra were filled with seasonal festivities, joviality and plenty of community spirit over the weekend when the riverside village hosted a special Christmas evening ... President of the Ulmarra Village Inc Steve Pickering, who also owns the Coldstream Gallery in Ulmarra, said local business owners were thrilled to be involved with the event and he estimated upwards of 500 people attended throughout the evening.

Yesterday representatives of the local soccer club, Lions Club and the CWA were each presented with $800 cheques from the IGA Community Chest to assist them with their activities, and all recipients were very thankful for the gift.

The NSW Sugar crushing season for 2021 officially finished last week with Harwood Mill taking the final delivery of cane on Monday 29th  November. The crop for the Harwood area totalled around 575,000 tonnes which was down on the original forecast.

You may have noticed the new window display with artfully displayed bandages, band-aids and defibrillators at 22 High Street. Nurse Nicole Gleeson, started Rhythm First Aid three years ago, a training company delivering first aid training of the highest quality in a captivating and fun environment. Rhythm First Aid delivers first-aid courses to schools, parents, and businesses around Victoria.

Kirstin Nicholson. Celebrity Chef, Manu Feildel dropped in recently to sample some of the local produce. Feildel was in the region as part of the Cohuna and District Progress Association’s (CDPA) Chef and Chandeliers Gala held on Saturday night. On Saturday morning, Manu and CDPA representative, Keith Link, toured the region by helicopter, visiting properties and sampling the region’s produce.

Emma Pritchard. Several retailers in River Street, Maclean, will remain open until 8pm on December 10, allowing shoppers additional time to grab some last-minute bargains ahead of the Christmas rush and boost the local economy ... the event aims to support local businesses and unite the township following a difficult 12-month period as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Geoff Helisma. As a shopper walks past the Yamba Fair Butchery, the ‘extra-loud’ shirts the butchers are wearing is likely to catch their attention and, perhaps, stimulate a thought: Why?

Two Maldon businesses are finalists in the Mount Alexander Business Excellence Awards. Warral Maldon and Maldon Takeaway were both selected for demonstrating excellence in their fields ... Since 1896, when the great-great grandfather of the current owner of Warral Maldon, Lindsay Callaway, fell in love with bees, this one family has spent more than 125 years perfecting the art of apiculture ... Maldon Takeaway strive for excellence each day.

The $22m expansion of the Yanchep Central Shopping Centre has been approved by the Metro Outer JDAP after a short delay due to Main Roads WA’s concerns about future vehicle queuing along Peony Blvd during peak periods ... The shopping centre expansion is estimated to result in 106 construction jobs and up to 723 centre positions.

Locally owned and operated businesses in Geraldton have jumped at the opportunity to be part of the City of Greater Geraldton’s Buy Local Greater Geraldton Gift Card program, which officially launched to the public in October.

Narrandera’s second supermarket, IGA Narrandera +Liquor opened for business in August with a minimum of fanfare due to Covid-related restrictions but they are now forging ahead with plans to expand services and products ... “The town will see a white delivery van with IGA logo on the streets of Narrandera soon ... We also aim to go live with our online shopping portal ..." : Harry Ajwani.

Primewest has snapped up the Northgate Geraldton Shopping Centre in Western Australia for $71.2 million, forming a new single-asset, unlisted wholesale property fund. The Centuria Capital Group subsidiary secured the asset, which is the dominant shopping centre in the area, with 15,758sqm of GLA within the 336,845sqm site.

High cattle prices and the housing crisis have led to changes at the casino Food Co-op. Shifts have been reduced and the co-operative plans to build worker cottages on site. Chief executive Simon Stahl said the price of cattle was too high for the meat processing plant.

Gabrielle Duykers. Wool processing factory MiniJumbuk is planning a $500,000 expansion for its Naracoorte retail shop in an effort to attract more tourists ... Marketing manager Darren Turner said the business wanted to create an “engaging” experience for visitors. “You’ll be able to walk out into a safe environment and see manufacturing happening. We want to be able to show how things are still made here in Australia.”

Emma Pritchard. Her sign says it all ... As the state-wide lockdown continues, Jess Wood, Manager of The Book Warehouse in Grafton, says she has seen an increase in the number of people purchasing books as the community searches for refreshing ways to keep their minds happily occupied during these challenging times.

One echidna. One night. Locked in a bottle shop. What could possibly go wrong?

Casino is about to get fresh with its own weekly farmers market. John and Frieda De Kleuver are organising the market for the Casino Lions Club. The plan is to hold a market every Saturday morning at Crawford Square in South Casino, starting in September.

Butchers inside major supermarkets could soon become extinct. No more stopping for a friendly chat about the cut of your meat with the butcher while you shop ... The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union said the change would see qualified butchers ‘redeployed’ into other roles at the supermarkets.