Armagh St grocer ending long career

Press, 27 June 1987, Page 8

Armagh St grocer ending long career

By

SUZANNE KEEN

When Len Armstrong began his grocery career in 1937 as a delivery boy cycling his way about town, he never dreamed he would one day own five Christchurch stores. "We used to have prunes coming in,” he said. “I had to weigh them and take them with me on my deliveries to the customers and try to make a sale of eight pence a pound.” Now, 50 years later, Mr Armstrong is hanging up his scales for. good. Within the 1 next few weeks he will have sold Armstrong’s Foodmarket, in Armagh Street, and retired. Mr Armstrong’s other two grocery stores and a bookshop were sold several years ago, but his wife, Marie, will continue with a dress shop in Armagh Street He said the thing he enjoyed most about the foodmarket was the contact with customers.

“It has been a great street and a nice class of people. I have, had a lot of pleasure out of it and the shop has been a good headquarters for Inthe

family who come in dur-.' ing their lunchtime.” Mr Armstrong began working for a company, Star Stores, in the 19405, after a break from ■ the retail business, during which he served in the Army and searched for gold on the West Coast. He managed the foodmarket for two. years and then became owner when the company sold its 13 stores.

There used to be eight grocery stores in Armagh Street between Manchester Street and Colombo Street but Armstrong’s Foodmarket is the only one remaining. In fact, it is one of only a handful of small, privately owned grocer’s shops still in the city. ■ Mr Armstrong believes that one of the reasons for this is the high rental owners face, as well as the growth of supermarkets.

Another change he has seen is the trend towards pre-prepared, foods. He remembers when ail foods such as flour, sugar, and even biscuits had to be weighed. “Everything used to

have to be weighed and it was a full-time job.. The only thing we weigh now is the money at the end of the day.”

Cure-all medicines and pills are another item which have disappeared from the grocer’s store.

“There used to be one called R.U.R. which was advertised on the radio with, ‘Take R.U.R. and right you are.’ When it first came up in 1939 it was a big seller.

When he retires Mr Armstrong hopes to have more time with his family and for golf and gold digging, where he still hopes to discover “the big find.”

The West Coast town,of Blackwater has forid memories for Mr Armstrong, who used to go to school there. • A pastime that proved as profitable as looking for gold was picking mushrooms and blackberries which were sold during the Depression.

“We used to sell the blackberries for sixpence a pound. I must always have had a bit of the salesman in me I guess,” said yr Armstrong. ?