Two Farro stores cop alcohol sale bans

Farro Fresh Supermarket. Photo / Dean Purcell

Grey Lynn and Mt Wellington residents will have to cope with buying their posh nosh separately from their booze this week if they plan to shop at Farro Fresh.

Liquor licences for two of the upmarket supermarket chain's stores have been suspended after breaches of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act late last year.

The bans were the result of a controlled-purchase operation conducted by police on December 13.

The Grey Lynn store had its licence suspended for a week starting yesterday, while the Mt Wellington branch will not sell alcohol for five days, beginning today, following the two decisions by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

Duty managers at Mt Wellington and Grey Lynn branches have also had their manager's certificates suspended for 28 days and 21 days respectively.

A regular customer of the Grey Lynn supermarket, on Westmoreland St West, told the Herald they had been unable to buy wine or beer when they visited the store yesterday.

"The booze is covered in black-covered plastic sheets with notes saying 'no sales for a week'."

This is not the first time the Grey Lynn Farro branch has had its licence suspended.

Last year, media reported the supermarket had breached its licence by selling the Italian liqueur limoncello - which has a higher alcohol content than the wines and beers typically sold at supermarkets which are under the 15 per cent by volume threshold set out in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.

And in September 2013, a controlled purchase operation found the Grey Lynn supermarket sold alcohol to a person under 18 and the supermarket licence was suspended for five days from January 1, 2014.

Farro founders Janine and James Draper were unable to be reached for comment last night.

The upmarket chain is not the only supermarket to be stung in the past year for a licensing breach.

On August 19, 2012, a member of the public alerted police after seeing a man drive his car through Takapuna Countdown's carpark before mounting the kerb.

He was sold alcohol by a cashier, despite swaying, stumbling and fumbling with his possessions.

Earlier this year, the supermarket was banned from selling booze for a week.

And Auckland's Rydges Hotel was left dry for nearly a month over the January holiday period because of a mix-up in renewing its liquor licence.