FreshChoice opening in former Smith City store in Rotorua Central Mall

FreshChoice is moving into the Rotorua Central Mall site previously occupied by Smith City, which closed in January. Photo / Mead Norton

FreshChoice has been confirmed as a new tenant for Rotorua Central Mall, ending months of speculation.

The supermarket will open in early November in the former Smith City space, which closed in January.

A FreshChoice spokesperson said the team was “excited” to bring the store to the city centre, with a team of about 30 to 40 staff expected.

Neighbouring businesses at the mall said construction at the site had been under way for some time.

The announcement comes more than a year after Countdown closed its Central Mall supermarket in May 2024.

Woolworths New Zealand, formerly branded as Countdown, owns the FreshChoice supermarket franchise, which is locally operated by individual store owners.

At the time, the Countdown closure was described as “disastrous” by First Union, which represented more than 30 affected staff at the local supermarket.

Woolworths said it would try to redeploy employees to its other local stores.

Last year, local businesses raised an alarm about the impact of losing a major supermarket anchor, warning an empty site could be “devastating” for foot traffic through the mall.

Some community members suggested alternative uses for the space, such as an indoor skating facility, highlighting concern over how long the building might remain vacant.

The space has been vacant for about 15 months.

Rotorua Central Mall’s new FreshChoice would be co-owned by Wayne and Michelle Parry, alongside Michael and Paula Beattie.

The Parrys were no strangers to Rotorua’s supermarket scene, opening the city’s first FreshChoice in 2017 on Te Ngae Rd, Ōwhata. It was the 27th FreshChoice in New Zealand.

At the time, Parry told the Rotorua Daily Post he was committed to employing locals at the Ōwhata supermarket, counting on the local community to support the business.

Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.