The Little Grocer

The Little Grocer is an infinitely charming and unbelievably twee, deli and eatery type place. They have a little selection of cabinet treats and a surprisingly varied array of cold drinks, both imported and local. An extremely special feature of the Little Grocer is the fact that they have a little cat who kind of wanders about the store and just kind of cheers the place up no end. I suppose it’s also probably pretty unhygienic, but that flies in the face of the entire undertaking of the Little Grocer.
They also sell little vintage stuff like bottles and jars and trinkets and shit like that. That’s kind of unnecessary to me. Seems like a waste. I’d definitely prefer if they were a legit grocer rather than dabbling in all this other coy stuff.
Oh and they also have a friggen mysterious swapbox thing which is off the charts twee.
Four stars.

It probably says a lot for The Little Grocer that during one of my properly poor weeks, I was still very happy to spend $ 18 there on lunch, which was pretty much all the disposable income I had for that week. Yep, I neglected buying sensible things for a delicious sandwich.
My favourite thing are the homemade iceblocks (pannacotta!), but also I love sitting on the stoop (OK, bench) outside and watching the world go by. They also sell a small range of pottery and other collectibles, which are very tempting, as well as other food items, like free range eggs. Finally, some sort of mad genius is obviously enjoying scribbling notes and putting them on the message board; check them out.

This little local is a right wee gem. I’d often driven past and reminded myself to stop and one day I pulled on over and went in to grab a couple of coffees.
While I was waiting for my coffee I was able to peruse the cute and kitsch collection of items available for sale, and I almost bought some freshly-​baked bread, even though I had perfectly fresh bread waiting for me at home.
Service with a smile, tasty coffee and every intention to return.

The Little Grocer is located on Richmond Road in Grey Lynn and is the cutest little place. At the entrance of the building is a ‘comments wall’, where post-​it notes and messages to friends have been stuck. This wall sets the tone of The Little Grocer. While predominantly a deli-​type store, the Grocer also stocks crazy vintage and retro knick-​knacks including old china, toys and milk bottles.
Though these bizarre ornaments are not where the fun ends. The Little Grocer also has a ‘swapbox’ where customers are encouraged to swap one of their possessions for one that has been previously left, and ‘mystery books’; books that have been wrapped in newspaper that can be swapped or purchased. The ultimate lucky dip. It is these fun little games and offerings that make The Little Grocer so unique.
The quality of the food at The Little Grocer is superb; all homemade style wraps, salads, breads, sweets and even ice-​blocks — the whole place has a very homely comfortable atmosphere. It is the ultimate small-​town, community-​based, Kiwi store and once you’ve experienced it you’ll definitely be back for more!

The Little Grocer is one of those places you drive past and think ‘I really must go there’. And you really must. As the name would suggest it is little and perched on a corner of Richmond Road. It’s a bit of a mixed bag; there is artisan bread, organic drinks (amazing for hangovers), delicatessan style sandwiches and cabinet food and then there are toys. Yep, really cool quirky toys. Not many, but some.
The service is like you’ve just walked into a friends house and told them you were hungry. Oder a delicious coffee and sit outside on the little bench while you wait for your sandwich to be toasted. Then stroll around the wonderful area that is Grey Lynn wondering how you got to be so lucky.
The food is all super good quality, down to the dangerously good packets of potato chips. Get a pack.
Who doesn’t love places like this?! Next time you drive past, stop, it’s worth it.