Graham and Sue Thomas bought their small corner store in Narrabri with the intention of running it for a few years until they planned their next career move.
Thirty years later, the former draftsman and bar manager are still happily greeting customers from behind the counter at Thomas’ Corner Store and today they celebrate their 30th anniversary.
The business still thrives on grocery sales, despite the number of corner stores losing trade and diminishing in recent years.
“There was a general trend up to 10 years ago where they were dying out and it was due to your big supermarkets just taking over, because they hardly existed back earlier on,” Graham says.
Competing with supermarkets’ buying power and lower priced goods has been challenging, but Graham enjoys the challenge and says Thomas’ Corner Store has survived by reinventing itself.
“We couldn’t compete price-wise, but we couldn’t just turn up our toes so we went down the path of top quality and top customer service,” he explains.
“Wowing” their customers and making “customers for life” are the biggest priorities for the Thomas’ and their staff.
“We demand top grade from our suppliers because that’s what we want to give our customers,” Graham says.
“You might save a couple of dollars buying a cheaper version but you might end up throwing it out [because the quality isn’t there] so it’s false economy.”
Whether they’re delivering grocery orders, repairing something broken at an older customer’s home, or picking out all the pink jellybeans to please their younger clientele, Graham and Sue offer the old-fashioned extra mile that’s reminiscent of traditional corner stores.
The business has recreated itself by installing an espresso machine and seating 2.5 years ago, increasing their sandwich range, operating as a Video Ezy outlet at one stage, having pin ball machines and stand up consoles – popular at the time - and installing Eftpos, a much-needed resource in today’s digital age.
“Basically the secret is not remaining stagnant and keep[ing] up with technology,” Graham says.
The couple celebrated their 30th year running the shop with a sandwich sale today.
They found an old price board while renovating years ago and today sold sandwiches for the prices on the board, with a Vegemite sandwich just 30 cents.
“We won’t make much money but it’ll be fun,” Sue said before the festivities began.
Thirty years later, the former draftsman and bar manager are still happily greeting customers from behind the counter at Thomas’ Corner Store and today they celebrate their 30th anniversary.
The business still thrives on grocery sales, despite the number of corner stores losing trade and diminishing in recent years.
“There was a general trend up to 10 years ago where they were dying out and it was due to your big supermarkets just taking over, because they hardly existed back earlier on,” Graham says.
Competing with supermarkets’ buying power and lower priced goods has been challenging, but Graham enjoys the challenge and says Thomas’ Corner Store has survived by reinventing itself.
“We couldn’t compete price-wise, but we couldn’t just turn up our toes so we went down the path of top quality and top customer service,” he explains.
“Wowing” their customers and making “customers for life” are the biggest priorities for the Thomas’ and their staff.
“We demand top grade from our suppliers because that’s what we want to give our customers,” Graham says.
“You might save a couple of dollars buying a cheaper version but you might end up throwing it out [because the quality isn’t there] so it’s false economy.”
Whether they’re delivering grocery orders, repairing something broken at an older customer’s home, or picking out all the pink jellybeans to please their younger clientele, Graham and Sue offer the old-fashioned extra mile that’s reminiscent of traditional corner stores.
The business has recreated itself by installing an espresso machine and seating 2.5 years ago, increasing their sandwich range, operating as a Video Ezy outlet at one stage, having pin ball machines and stand up consoles – popular at the time - and installing Eftpos, a much-needed resource in today’s digital age.
“Basically the secret is not remaining stagnant and keep[ing] up with technology,” Graham says.
The couple celebrated their 30th year running the shop with a sandwich sale today.
They found an old price board while renovating years ago and today sold sandwiches for the prices on the board, with a Vegemite sandwich just 30 cents.
“We won’t make much money but it’ll be fun,” Sue said before the festivities began.