After 19 years owning specialist Queenstown supermarket, Raeward Fresh, owners Angela and Nathan Imlach are ‘‘ready just to have some time out and do some thing else rather than wait till we’re too old’’.
They’ve sold to former Four Square Picton supermarket owners Jono and Jess Eltema, who took over this week.
The Imlachs launched the former Mediterranean Market in 2003 as an outgrowth of their original family wholesale business.
‘‘The first couple of years were pretty rocky,’’ Angela recalls.
In 2014, they joined the Raeward Fresh brand owned by Food stuffs South Island.
‘‘We were able to carry on doing it our way but take advantage of some of the cooperative’s advantages,’’ Angela says.
She believes their loyal customers ‘‘understand a specialty food store in such a small town is quite a big ask, and they’ve got behind it very well’’.
She’s also confident the new owners will take the business to the next level — ‘‘we’re pleased for the store and the staff’’.
Jono Eltema, who’s been in retail for about 17 years, previously worked in London for Whole Foods Market, which was subsequently bought by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and managed Nelson’s Raeward Fresh before buying Four Square Picton.
His wife is joining him in the Queenstown business after having worked in the private and public hospital scene in New Zealand and London.
“We love good food and we love the environment and atmosphere that Raeward Fresh creates,” Jono says.
“We’ve got big shoes to fill, that’s for sure, but we’ve got the right staff behind us.”
