Some shops will be open

Press, 2 June 1977, Page 1

Some shops will be open

Some Christchurch shops will remain open today and' tomorrow if Canterbury shop assistants strike. Family-owned businesses such as Verkerk’s Butchery will remain open. The owner of the store, Mr A. Verkerk, said that his staff had been very busy yesterday but the shop would not run out of meat. Owen’s Butchery, in Colombo Street, will also remain open, although staff said that they were running

short of all types of meat. All Keystore shops would close, because, as one manager said, “We can’t go against a union decision.” It seems likely that most dairies will remain open. One Christchurch jeweller has a compelling reason to keep his shop open. The owner of Adcock’s Jewellers, Mr S. R. Donnell, said that he still had several wedding rings to complete for people getting married this week-end. Another jeweller said that whether his shop

opened depended on the actions of the bigger re j tailers. “We are just a small fish and will follow the big fish,” he said. Small suburban draperies will probably stay open. However, large retail stores such as Beath and Company, Ltd, and Ballantyne and Company, Ltd, will close. Shoe shops which are part of a national chain, such as Hannahs, will close but individually owned stores, such as John Logie, Ltd, will remain open al-

though the Riccarton branch of the shop will close. Most record shops in Christchurch are privately owned and will be open. All chemist shops will be open. The president of the Canterbury Chemists’ Guild (Mr B. H. Mclntosh) said that essential staff would be employed for dispensing medicine during the stopwork meeting. Quick-lunch and takeaway bars and restaurants will remain open.