Charlie, aka Mr. Four Square, has made a long-awaited return to Huntly with the opening of the brand-new Four Square Huntly, led by local Owner Operator, Priyanka Patel and her husband, Kurvesh. After several years away, Charlie will once again be a familiar face in the community, thanks to the Patels’ commitment and hard work.
Located at 101 Bailey Street, the contemporary store officially opened its doors on Thursday, 22 August, marking the culmination of a two-year labour of love for the couple.
“My husband and I ran an independent convenience store in Gisborne for about five years, but our goal has always been to own a Four Square,” says Priyanka Patel, owner-operator of Four Square Huntly.
“So, when the opportunity to buy an empty store in Huntly came up, we knew it would be hard work, but we jumped at the chance.”
As well as settling into a new area and raising a young family, the couple have a six-year-old son, Priyan and two-year-old daughter, Bhreeza, the Patels have spent the last two years rebuilding the store to create a modern supermarket with customer convenience at its heart.
“We really wanted to create a Four Square the whole community could be proud of,” she says.
“Huntly has been so amazingly welcoming to my family, and we want to repay that support. People will be familiar with the site, as several years ago it was formerly a Four Square, but we have made so many changes and improvements. We think our customers will be delighted when they visit us. They really won’t recognise it.”
As well as a wide range of groceries, fresh meat and produce, Four Square Huntly is serving barista-made coffee, hot food like chicken & chips, freshly baked goods from its new kitchen facilities and it even has a Lotto kiosk.
Patel says they have spent the last two years getting to know the community as both business owners and residents, and the range of goods they stock reflects what they know locals want to shop for.
“To become part of the Four Square family, really is a dream come true, and to be opening a new store during the brands 100th anniversary is an honour. We’ve been working towards this since we opened our first store over eight years ago, so we are both very excited and quite nervous.
“Our family has flown over from India to support us, and it makes it even more special to be starting our Four Square journey with them by our sides.”
The state-of-the-art store design is the latest generation of Four Square format being rolled out across the country. The store has also been designed with safety in mind with store front bollards, fog cannons, security cameras, and anti-theft tobacco cabinets.
Greg Stone, Head of Four Square at Foodstuffs North Island, says it’s great to be back in Huntly and he’s delighted for both Priyanka and Kurvesh who have poured so much love into the store.
“Four Square Huntly is a great reflection of everything that is so special about Four Square, all our stores are individually owned and operated by local families, and you can feel the love and hard work that has been poured into every detail of this store,” he says.
“I’m confident that both the Patels and Four Square Huntly will become an integral part of the local community for many years to come.”
Four Square Huntly is Foodstuffs North Island’s second new store to open in 2024, with the co-op investing around $100 million in property upgrades every year. A new New World Havelock North opened in July and two further New Worlds are in the pipeline with Auckland’s Mount Albert due to reopen in October and Pāpāmoa’s ‘The Sands’ in November.
Four Square Huntly is open seven days a week from 6.30am to 7.00pm.
Fast Facts
- Owned and operated by Priyanka and Kurvesh Patel
- Latest Four Square design and offer
- 248 square metres of retail space
- 3 new jobs created and filled by local people
- Over 4,500 products available
- Two team member operated checkouts
- One Lotto kiosk
- 12 car parks
- $100m investment by Foodstuffs in building and transforming co-op stores each year
