Beer and wine on tap at Red Shed

The Warehouse Group's first beer and wine outlet opened for business in Tauranga today after a drawn-out licensing process.

Called The Warehouse Cellars, it is a "store within a store" at the Red Shed in the Fraser Cove Shopping Centre.

Warehouse spokeswoman Cynthia Church said: "We know customers enjoy the convenience of one-stop shopping and this new arrangement will enable us to better meet their needs and expectations."

Customers will see the in-house liquor outlet as soon as they walk through the main entrance. It takes up 120sq m of the 9300sq m store not far from the check-out counters.

The Warehouse Cellars is sealed off with its own walls and just one entrance - it doesn't have a roof - resulting from the liquor licence conditions.

The proposed liquor outlet, the first for the company in New Zealand and Australia, was announced last November but The Warehouse got its licence only last month.

Police and Tauranga City Council liquor licensing staff initially opposed the application, believing the area should be restricted or supervised.

At the time Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson said police had no problems with the franchise selling alcohol in principle but were concerned over how that was achieved.

He said the store was used by children and teenagers as well as adults, meaning the area should be sectioned off. It was important the rules were established.

Judge E W Unwin ruled in Tauranga District Court that buying alcohol at The Warehouse could not be compared with supermarket shopping and so should not be licensed like one. The judge said the Fraser Cove branch must have a "store within a store" and decide whether to restrict it to people over 18 or to require any underage people to be accompanied by a parent.

Ms Church said the group chose to have the area supervised. "Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The staff have been trained to check identifications and if they are underage then they will be asked to leave."

She said the group, with its large retail network, was hoping to be treated like a supermarket and have an unsupervised area. "But we are happy to get the first Warehouse Cellars up and running."

The Warehouse Cellars is a joint venture between the Warehouse Group and partner Reliance Wines, owned by Ed and Barbara Aster.

The next Warehouse Cellars will go into the Auckland Sylvia Park Warehouse Extra, which opens in June.

As well as wine and beer, there will be food on offer. It will be the first time in New Zealand and Australia that food and the firm's further wide range of items will be sold in the same store.

The Warehouse in Sylvia Park will have a cafe, the Cellars, a bakery and in-store pharmacy.

After that, The Warehouse will wait to see the results of the Cellars at Fraser Cove before expanding the wine and beer outlet to other centres, Ms Church said.

She declined to comment about whether the group would try to get future Warehouse Cellars unsupervised or supervised.

The Warehouse, which has group sales of $2.2 billion and latest annual profit of $39 million, has 85 stores in New Zealand, plus 43 specialising in stationery. The group employs more than 9000 people in the country.

- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES