They tried their best to fit in when the community needed them most
In Flaxmere, a suburb of Hastings that once lost its only supermarket and found itself quietly rescued by an independent operator willing to serve where others would not, that same rescuer is now stepping aside — one week after Woolworths opens its $25 million store nearby. The timing is shaped by demolition plans, lease agreements, and the logic of redevelopment, but beneath the practicalities lies a familiar human story: the small actor who fills a void, holds the line, and is eventually displaced by the arrival of permanence. What Flaxmere gains in long-term certainty, it briefly loses in continuity — and for those without transport or mobility, even a week is not nothing.
- An independent supermarket that stepped in when New World abandoned Flaxmere will close in July, just one week after Woolworths opens its doors down the road.
- The closure is not a market defeat but a demolition — the entire Flaxmere Village Shopping Centre is being razed for a new road and modernised retail precinct.
- Elderly residents, people with disabilities, and those without reliable transport face a gap in local grocery access during the transition, however brief.
- Flaxmere Pharmacy, a 30-year community institution, avoids erasure by securing space inside the new Woolworths development, complete with consulting rooms and banking services.
- Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum has praised the independent supermarket's contribution while welcoming Woolworths as a sign of lasting investment in a long-underserved suburb.
- The redevelopment promises stability and jobs, but the community must first pass through a moment of vulnerability before the promised permanence arrives.
The independent Flaxmere Supermarket will close in July, one week after Woolworths opens its new $25 million store nearby. The timing is tied to a broader redevelopment of the Flaxmere Village Shopping Centre, where a new road will be cut through the site where the supermarket currently stands. TW Property chief executive Terry May confirmed a lease termination agreement had been reached with the supermarket's owners, describing both parties as satisfied — though he noted the precise timing of the closure was the owners' decision.
The supermarket's origins give its closure a particular weight. When New World left Flaxmere, the suburb faced a genuine crisis. Older residents, people with disabilities, and families without transport suddenly had no local place to buy groceries. The independent operators leased the building just before Woolworths committed to the area, and for several years provided an essential service to a vulnerable community. Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum acknowledged that contribution directly, saying she was sorry to see them go.
Other tenants are also being displaced. Flaxmere Pharmacy, which has served the community for over 30 years, will relocate into the new Woolworths development, bringing with it consulting rooms, healthcare services, and space for NZ Post and Kiwibank — a continuation rather than an ending.
Schollum has framed Woolworths' arrival as a positive milestone, pointing to long-term grocery certainty, new jobs, and meaningful investment in an underserved suburb. That case has real substance. But the week between the independent store's closure and Woolworths' full operation is a gap — small in duration, significant for those with nowhere else to turn. The redevelopment promises stability; the transition creates temporary vulnerability. Both things are true at once.
The independent supermarket in Flaxmere, a suburb of Hastings, will shut its doors in July—one week after Woolworths opens its new $25 million store just down the road. The timing is not coincidental. The building that houses Flaxmere Supermarket, along with most of the other shops in the Flaxmere Village Shopping Centre, is slated for demolition as part of a major redevelopment project. A new road will cut through the middle of the village, running roughly where the supermarket now stands.
Terry May, chief executive of TW Property, which manages the shopping centre, confirmed that a lease termination agreement had been reached with the supermarket's owners. Both parties, he said, were satisfied with the arrangement. May acknowledged that he knew the closure was coming, but the decision to time it for just after Woolworths' opening was ultimately up to the supermarket's owners. The new Woolworths development will reshape the retail landscape of Flaxmere—a suburb that, until recently, had been without a supermarket at all.
The story of how Flaxmere Supermarket came to exist in the first place matters here. When New World closed, the suburb faced a genuine crisis. Older residents, people living with disabilities, families without reliable transport—they suddenly had nowhere local to buy groceries. The owners and staff of Flaxmere Supermarket stepped into that void. They leased the building just before Woolworths committed to building in the area, and for several years they provided an essential service to a vulnerable population. Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum acknowledged this contribution directly, saying she was sorry to see them go and thanking them for their commitment during a period of real uncertainty.
Other businesses in the shopping centre are also being displaced by the redevelopment. Flaxmere Pharmacy, which has served the community for more than 30 years, will relocate. But unlike the supermarket, the pharmacy has secured a new home: it will open inside the new Woolworths development, with three consulting rooms, a full range of healthcare services, and space for NZ Post and Kiwibank services. The pharmacy's relocation is, in some sense, a continuation rather than an ending.
The Hastings District Council has backed Woolworths' arrival and the broader redevelopment plan. Schollum framed the supermarket's opening as a positive milestone for the suburb—bringing long-term certainty of grocery access, new jobs, and fresh investment. There is real substance to that argument. A $25 million supermarket represents significant economic commitment to a community that had been underserved. But the transition period between the closure of the independent store and the full operation of Woolworths will be a gap, however brief. For residents without transport or with mobility challenges, that week matters. The redevelopment promises stability; the closure creates temporary vulnerability. Both things are true at once.
Notable Quotes
We tried our best to fit in and learn and become part of the community.— Flaxmere Supermarket owners
The owners and staff stepped in during that period of uncertainty and provided Flaxmere with an important local service when it was most needed. That took real commitment.— Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the supermarket owners decide to close right when Woolworths opens? Couldn't they have stayed longer?
The building itself is being demolished. A new road is going through where the supermarket sits now. There's no staying—the redevelopment doesn't leave room for the old tenants.
So they knew this was coming when they signed the lease?
They leased the building just before Woolworths committed to the area. They probably didn't know exactly when the end would come, but they knew it would come. They filled a gap that needed filling.
What about the people who depend on that supermarket? The elderly residents, people without cars?
That's the tension. The pharmacy is moving into the new Woolworths, so they have continuity. But the supermarket itself—there's a one-week gap. For someone without transport, that's not nothing.
Does the council see this as worth it?
They do. They're framing Woolworths as long-term certainty, new jobs, investment. The independent store was always temporary, even if the owners didn't know it at first.
Do you think the owners feel that way?
Their statement says they tried their best to fit in and become part of the community. That sounds like people who came to care about what they were doing, even if they always knew it was temporary.