Along the busy Gembrook-Belgrave Road sits a quiet, but very productive, destination for local goods.
Mapleridge Local Produce has been a central spot for residents for over a decade. It’s become so trustworthy that customers effectively help themselves.
“They love it because they know you,” they said,
The retirement project of owner Graeme Smith, the little produce shop has turned into a staple of Cockatoo not only for residents but local producers as well.
The shop started with the selling of free-range eggs as Graeme had a few chickens at the property.
Today, as cartons have become an expensive item on the grocery list, these eggs have become the mainstay of the shop, providing a quality and cheaper alternative to the big supermarkets.
With demand so high, he also sells eggs from local producers to serve the many dozens of eggs that are bought each week.
But the shop is much more than convenience; the store has become proof that people will always favour local, and they will remain firmly loyal.
“They love it because they know you,” Graeme said.
“People come and have a look at the back garden, they take any excess I have.”
Alongside free-range eggs, Mapleridge sells its own home-made jams, chutneys, cakes and biscuits. An assortment of goods is brought in from local producers such as honey from Healesville, to even dog biscuits made by “Woofs and Waggles,“ run by a high school student down the road.
Approximately 15 other local businesses, from Gembrook to Warragul sell their goods at the store.
You can grab such items without even interacting with anyone because the shop isn’t manned constantly through the day.
All you are asked is to walk in, grab what you want and pay accordingly.
A business based on honesty and trust? Many owners would shiver at the thought, but at Mapleridge it works without a hitch.
The loyalty is so strong that even if there is a concern, his fellow residents will look after him.
“If there is a suspicious car hanging around and I’m not here, someone will give me a call and let me know.”
The shop is situated perfectly on the main road between Gembrook and Cockatoo.
The hills are known for their markets and many travellers make a stop on their way through on the weekend, meaning he has little need to go to provide his own stall when the people come to him.
He sells Anzac biscuits all year round, they simply sell too fast to keep them seasonal, and he uses his grandmother’s century-old recipe for the popular fruit cake selection.
He has a veggie garden out back that he grows a range of produce from silver beet, broad beans to tomatoes that he sources from Warragul’s Flavorite.
Any excess produce he sells to residents. When he is in store, he is always open to give someone a quick look at the back gardens.
As a former supermarket manager, he certainly knows how to sell products and build loyalty, so much so that he doesn’t even have to handle every transaction.
Overall, he has turned a retirement project to make use of some extra eggs into a community staple uniting the best of local produce.
