Barker's Foodstore & Eatery on Brown Street is a courtyard café that sells the Barker's pantry range from the Geraldine family business, and the range shows up on the menu itself. It opened as a second venue after the original at the Geraldine farm, and the cabinet changes daily. You can expect South Island staples such as cheese rolls, savoury scones, house-made pies, sandwiches, salads and sweet treats, with Barker's jams, sauces and condiments to taste and buy on the way out. Weekends bring an all-day brunch menu. The café also takes enquiries by email or phone, and the website lists a back-to-school offer of buy three, save 30% on selected products, so check that is still running before you go.
The Barker's story explains why the menu reads the way it does. The family started making fruit wine on a South Canterbury farm in 1969, went on to a wood burning stove design patented by Anthony Barker, and later made fruit fillings for bakeries and jams for home kitchens. In 2015 the Andros family, of Bonne Maman, joined the business. Ponsonby gets the same jars and recipes that sit in Kiwi pantries across the country, served in a courtyard with cheese rolls and pies as the everyday staples. For a casual lunch that doubles as a pantry stop, this is a good one to know on Brown Street.