Samford Fresh wins December award 

The charming village suburb of Samford can now boast one of Brisbane’s best greengrocers with local store Samford Fresh announced as the Brisbane Produce Market’s Retailer of the Month for December as well as Retailer of the Year finalist for 2009.

Husband and wife, Nev and Julie Munro own and operate the fruit and veg store on Main Street and have since early 2006.

“I was raised on a farm in New Zealand and have been involved with horticulture my whole life, we moved to Brisbane in June 1989 and I spent 17 years as a wholesaler at the Brisbane Produce Market eventually moving into retail four years ago ,” said Mr Munro.

Nev is a hand’s on owner and acts as buyer, manager, counter staff and stock control. He credits this level of involvement for his successes in the Brisbane Produce Market retail awards program.

“In order to be a contender for Retailer of the Year you have to consistently offer a high level of service throughout the year, not just a lucky ‘one off’ instance of a good mystery shop. I put a lot of work into staff training, store presentation and product range,” said Mr Munro.

Nev travels to the Brisbane Produce Market at Rocklea up to five times a week. This is unusual for a ‘village sized’ store but he makes a point of only sourcing the best quality fruit and veg at the best price and this requires constant work on the Market trading floor.

Nev and Julie not only work hard to offer Samford residents a premium greengrocer but they also involve themselves at the grassroots of this community by supporting local schools, businesses, not-for-profit groups and families who need special assistance.