31 January, 2023

New World Newmarket team restocking shelves after the flooding incident

New World Newmarket in Auckland re-opened for business at 7am today (Tuesday 31 January) after being inundated with floodwater during the recent weather event.  The $7.5million store, a part of the Foodstuffs North Island co-operative - and owned and operated by local Matt Hayward, opened just four months ago in the central Auckland suburb. 

Matt, who’d been working in the store says the deluge of water happened incredibly fast. 

New World Newmarket - before and after the flooding 

“I’d popped out to fetch something from a local hardware store and I got a call from one of the team to say water was rushing in.  I got back as quickly as I could and the store was already underwater.  The team had done a great job of making sure everyone was safe, evacuating the store and turning the electrics off.  All we could do then was sit outside in the covered car park and watch it all happen, there was absolutely nothing we could do.” 

The drive to get the store back up and running in record time started first thing on Saturday morning, with a priority focus on food safety. Matt says the support he’s received to get the store cleaned up and open for business has been phenomenal. 

“Our top priority has been safety, safety of our customers, our people and the safety of the food that we sell.  I was determined to get the store up and running again as soon as possible and I’ve been blown away by how everyone rallied round to get us open again.  The store and the Foodstuffs team, professional clean up contractors, my mates, my sister and even my mum have all been in to lend a hand.” 

Foodstuffs support experts in food safety were in the store over the long weekend, providing Matt and his team with guidance to make sure the clean-up is compliant with health and food safety regulations before the store re-opened.  The store has been thoroughly cleaned and flood damaged stock has been replaced with fresh stock on the shelves.  

Every New World store has a connection with a local foodbank, social supermarket, or food rescue organisation, so it was an easy decision with what to do with the damaged stock that could be rescued says Matt.  

“There was no way I was going to let good food go to waste, so I gave my contact Steve Farrelly at The Breakfast Club, one of our community partners providing food and other important resources to kids who need it - and he came over and picked it all up.  It warms my heart that out of this we can also do a bit of good in the community”. 

Even though the store has only been open for a few months, Matt and the team have built up a big following in the Newmarket community and he’s proud to be back up and running so soon. 

“As well as everyone who has helped get us up and running again in such a short amount of time, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our customers who’ve sent messages of support on our Facebook - and to let them know we’re here and open to serve our community again.  And if you live and shop locally and you haven’t been in yet, come and give us a try, we’d love to see you.” 

   Food being sent to Foodbanks 

New World Newmarket Carpark clean-up