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The aisles of a soon-to-be-shut New World supermarket in Hawke’s Bay are eerily bare, with a councillor saying the shopping experience is now filled with sadness.��

Evidence of the impending��Flaxmere New World��closure on Sunday is everywhere.��

Once filled with choices, the shelves now contain only the basics - bread, milk, toilet paper, canned goods, dairy products, baking products - though a local who visited this week noted there was still a decent selection of beer available.��

Flaxmere New World shelves are empty as the store closes on February 25.��

A month ago��Foodstuffs��announced it would not renew the lease in March, due to the inability to upgrade the ageing building to its standard.��

When it closes for good the Flaxmere community will be without a suitable alternative in their growing suburb of 11,000 people, though Hastings District Council are in negotiations with Woolworths and others.��

Flaxmere councillor Henry Heke said he was disappointed and frustrated with the way��Foodstuffs had handled the closure, saying that after the January announcement, workers in the store had almost immediately begun to pull stock off shelves.��

“There is hardly a range of products in the store this week. It’s very sad.”��

He said he maintained his commitment to see Flaxmere get what it deserves, but permanent solutions were only speculation.��

“If it is a new supermarket then fine, if it’s a food corp or smaller commercial stores like Mad Butcher, a greengrocer, or a vegetable mart then that’s beautiful.”����

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Business owners Bob and Sunny Singh of the Swansea Island Food Mart say they will be expanding��their store into a “mini-supermarket” style space to meet demand where possible.����

Buses regularly travel from Flaxmere to Hastings, but there have been��calls for more efficient and reliable services from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.��

Still no firm solutions as the closure looms of Flaxmere's only supermarket looms. Photo / Paul Taylor��

Heke said there would now be careful assessment of how the closure actually impacted the suburb.��

“On Wednesday, March 6 there will be a public hui to gather information and whanau needs after the actual closure to understand the impact,” he said.��

A former employee of the Flaxmere New World said in its heyday the store was driven by the community, but it had now been destroyed by “corporate bullies”.��

“I don’t see why they can’t forfeit a bit of money to upgrade.”��

A former supermarket employee said the building was a ticking time bomb.��

“It’s been neglected for many years and it was a ticking time bomb.”��

He felt the supermarket building would become a loitering place and cause issues in the future.��

“It wasn’t what we wanted. It seems very un-unified, disjointed and a collapse between the community and what they want.”��

Foodstuffs was contacted for comment.��

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.��