Whanganui’s Thistle Sweet Shop celebrates 90 years of business

Thistle owner Sandra Benson (left) with daughter and co-worker Jamie Wilkinson. Photo / Mike Tweed

Whanganui’s Thistle Sweet Shop has notched up 90 years in business and there are no sign of it slowing down.

Owner Sandra Benson said she stocked sweets and chocolates from all over the world and the ones on display were “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“There has to be quality control and the grandkids help out with that,” she said.

“They always come back with good reviews. They also let us know what’s trending.”

She said it was important to move with the times but favourites never went out of fashion.

“Older people are still keen on hard-boiled sort of things, like bull’s eyes and black balls, but kids are like ‘Nah, I want sour stuff’.

“Bonbons are always popular, and Irish Moss goes out the door pretty fast. You might think ‘oh yuck’ but, no, people love them.”

Irish Moss is a dark, aniseed-flavoured jube.

Benson said generations of families were regulars at the store, “it’s a tradition”, and there were customers across the country.

“We even have a gentleman call from Australia every year, once for a Father’s Day gift basket and once for a Mother’s Day gift basket.

“There are people in Wellington and Auckland who get lollies and fudge sent, and customers drive down from Hāwera way.”

Dale King, pictured in 2005, ran Thistle Sweet Shop for more than 30 years until 2009. Photo / NZME

Benson bought Thistle in 2022 from Sharlene and Roger Millar.

Thistle Sweet Shoppe was opened by Gordon Douglas Duncan on Guyton St in 1935.

After his death, daughter Helen Duncan ran the business, followed by his granddaughter Dale King.

King moved the shop from Guyton St to 138 Victoria Ave where a fire destroyed it and several others in the block in 1987.

Thistle then reopened at 136 Victoria Ave and has been there since.

In 2009, Rochelle and David Cole bought the business.

Benson said King, now 80, still visited the shop regularly and would be there for anniversary celebrations on Friday.

“She comes and says hi and makes sure we’re doing it right.”

Thistle also sells cake-decorating equipment and rents cake trays.

Some trays on the walls had been part of the store longer than she had, Benson said.

“They were there when I was a kid.”

She runs the store with her daughter, Jamie Wilkinson.

“My husband and I bought it but he usually only comes in to top up his lolly jar. Well, it’s really the grandkids’ lolly jar.

“There aren’t many shops in town that have been around for 90 years and we just want to keep going and get to 100.

“Even when there is something wrong, like a pandemic, people still want sweets. It makes them happy.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.