Shoppers were greeted last week with a new-look IGA in Currie.
Overnight the checkouts were transformed, and they now have slick conveyor belts, a new storage area, swing gates and an open style.
Mainlanders wouldn’t notice the change as they are the norm in supermarkets, but for King Island shoppers it was a bit of a shock.
“The old checkouts have been in place for 29 years – that’s how long we have owned IGA and yes over the last 29 years, we have replaced all refrigeration, new deli cabinets, new kitchen, new containers for storing dairy and frozen and leased out the building where the chemist is,” co-owner Albie Jacobson said.
“I remember the chaos on Fridays. The checkouts weren’t where they are now, and multiple people were working the registers. People would come in with cash from payday Thursday to do their shopping,” Julie Bull said.
Reflecting on past years Chris Robertson said, “I’m showing my age, but I remember the checkouts were in what is the liquor area to the left of the entrance.
“The money was put into a ‘cash carrier’ pod railway and it would whizz across the store on wires near the ceiling and end up in the cash office.
“Cash sales are getting less and less, and I think that in the next few years, there’ll be no more cash sales and no more cheques,” Albie added. Despite the modernisation both IGA and Foodworks still carry customer’s groceries to their cars – a long-lost and forgotten service in mainland shops.