Blacks Road Grocer is a beloved neighbourhood store on the corner of Blacks Road and North Road in Dunedin's North East Valley, part of Valley life throughout the last century. Today it blends three things in one special place: a quaint little cafe, an old-fashioned grocer's shop, and a showcase for some of the region's best local produce and pantry goods.
In the cafe you can enjoy a quiet coffee or tea, or indulge yourself in a Real Fruit Ice Cream, smoothie or juice. The cafe selection is all made with love in the grocer's own kitchen — good honest food, just like Mum or Nana used to make. High teas, catering and venue hire are also on offer for something more occasion-worthy.
The shelves hold a generous range of handmade preserves, relishes and sauces made on site, alongside seasonal fruit and vegetables, free range eggs, fresh artisan bread, Real Milk in a glass bottle from Windy Ridge, Evansdale Cheese, Harbour Honey, Bay Road Peanut Butter, Black Addiction Licorice and much more.
Blacks Road Grocer is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am-4pm, and closed Sunday and Monday. Soak up the quaint atmosphere over coffee, or take your treats away home — and if you're after a gift, look for the deluxe preserve boxes, handmade Pacific Kauri cheeseboard sets, hypertufa succulent planters and gift vouchers, many available online.
On a quiet corner where Blacks Road meets North Road in Dunedin's North East Valley, Blacks Road Grocer has been serving the neighbourhood for the better part of a century. What was once a classic corner store has grown into something rather special: part cafe, part old-fashioned grocer, and part showcase for the best local produce around. The team's promise is a simple one — good food, customer experience and atmosphere come first.
The cafe side of Blacks Road Grocer is small and unhurried. It's the sort of place where you can settle in for a quiet coffee or tea, or treat yourself to a Real Fruit Ice Cream, a smoothie or a fresh juice. Everything on the cafe menu is made with love in the grocer's own kitchen, which means the food leans hearty and homely rather than fussy. As the owners put it, this is good honest food, just like our Mum or Nana used to make.
For something more occasion-worthy, the grocer offers high teas in its quaint surroundings, and the kitchen also caters for events. Venue hire is available too, making the space a charming option for gatherings in the Valley.
Walk past the cafe tables and you'll find the shelves stacked with the kind of groceries that are hard to find in a supermarket. There are Blacks Road's own handmade preserves, relishes and sauces, made in the same kitchen as the cafe food. Alongside them sit seasonal fruit and vegetables, free range eggs, fresh artisan bread, and Real Milk from Windy Ridge, still sold the old way in glass bottles.
The store champions small local makers throughout its range: Evansdale Cheese, Harbour Honey, Bay Road Peanut Butter, Black Addiction Licorice, Hammerhead Foods and Grid Coffee all have a place on the shelves. If you'd rather take the week's vegetables home in one go, vege boxes of seasonal produce are available as well.
Blacks Road Grocer has quietly become a gifting destination. Its deluxe gift boxes are filled with the grocer's own delicious preserves, while the cheeseboard gift sets pair locally sourced, handmade Pacific Kauri boards with good things from the shop. There are also gorgeous hypertufa succulent planters, a quality Blacks Road Grocer tea towel in the store's own design, and gift vouchers for anyone hard to buy for. Many of these are available online, which makes them handy for sending a taste of Dunedin further afield.
Blacks Road Grocer has been a friendly neighbourhood store at the heart of North East Valley throughout the last century, and the emphasis today is still on convenience and quality. The difference is the direction the owners have taken the shop: back towards a time when good food was guaranteed, organic and local. The store's story is well documented, too — the Valley Project's "Then & Now" series featured Blacks Road, pairing today's corner store with scenes from years gone by in an article by Edith Leigh.
Blacks Road Grocer is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm and closed on Sundays and Mondays, so plan your visit for a weekday or a Saturday. Come in and soak up the quaint atmosphere, linger over a coffee, and leave with a bag of local produce or a jar or two of preserves — or simply take your treats away home. If you yearn for good honest food, it's all in one special place on the corner of Blacks Road and North Road.