Dairy with no door

Press, 10 February 1986, Page 16

Dairy with no door

The Hagley Park Dairy cannot close — there is no door.

Christchurch’s first 24hour dairy has been open since Christmas and is here to stay. “Business is good and increasing as people get to know about us,” said Mr Andrew Lane, who owns the dairy with his wife Denise.

“People are very pleased about the hours,” said Mr Lane.

“They feel it is long overdue and they are appreciative of the service,” he said. Mrs Lane said there are many people who work late shifts, night shifts and early shifts and find it hard to get to a dairy, let alone other shops, while they are still open.

Taxi-drivers, nurses, traffic officers, policemen, waitresses and bar staff are a few of the people who find the dairy suited to their working hours.

“We stock a good variety of grocery items,” said Mrs Lane.

Customers can buy food for a meal. There is a

variety of frozen meats, vegetables — both fresh and frozen— and numerous other goods.

The Lanes have also introduced a video hire service. The dairy stocks a selection of the most popular videos and these are available day and night.

Also available at the dairy are a wide selection of magazines and newspapers. The selection includes the “Southland Times” and the “Sydney Morning Herald.”

Mr and Mrs Lane started Dunedin’s first 24hour dairy last year. Mrs Lane said they had been aware of the need for such a dairy.

“When we closed at about 9 p.m. and we were there for another couple •of hours tidying up and balancing the till, we could see people still coming to the door,” said Mrs Lane.

“So we opened up the dairy in Dunedin for 24 hours and it went very well,” she said. The Hagley Park Dairy has a day manager, a night manager, three full-

time staff and about nine part-time staff. The staff are reliable and friendly. The manager, Mr Graham Hamilton, has found that food and drink become more popular in the later hours. “Most people coming in between II p.m. and 1 a.m. want something to eat and drink. “Videos are becoming popular also. Many people enjoy watching a video after they finish work and we have a good selection,” he said. The dairy’s location is fairly central. “It is handy to Papanui, Fendalton, Ham and Sockburn. It is also on a main thoroughfare,” said Mr Lane. The dairy is open all hours, in a handy location and stocks most things: fruit and vegetables, meat, frozen foods and a range of grocery items. A large variety of confectionery, snack-foods, ice cream and drinks are available. “We have just about everything that customers want in the grocery line,” said Mrs Lane. Most importantly, customers needn’t fear that last minute rush to catch the dairy open — this dairy never closes.