"Our customers and suppliers have been telling us that we have a fantastic offering for a long time, which is why we entered the awards. Our focus has always been on having the highest quality product. Every cut of Angus Pure which comes to our store must reach our very high expectations or it isn't put on our shelves - it's as simple as that."

For the Melodys who operate the store, butchery is in their blood, with at least one family member following the trade in each of the past five generations. Kelly's brother Mark has been a butcher for nine years, while Kelly's father and store owner Kerry Melody is also a butcher by trade.

When it comes to enjoying the perfect steak, Kelly has a few tips for her customers. "When you buy steak as good as Angus Pure, it's already been optimally aged and has amazing flavour, so we recommend doing very little to it."

"Just put a bit of olive oil, rock salt and cracked pepper on both sides, get your pan smoking hot, and grill for two minutes on each side, turning only once for a perfect medium rare. Don't forget to let the meat rest for three minutes, and serve with baby potatoes and minted peas - delicious!"

For the competition, each steak was aged for three weeks before being tested for tenderness, pH, marbling and percent cooking loss. The winners were tasted and selected by a panel of judges including Allyson Gofton, Sir Colin Meads and Sarah Ulmer at the Beef Expo, held in Feilding on 14 May.

We are unable to provide further detail until fire service personnel have finished assessing the damage, but our support teams will be working hard to help re-open the store as soon as possible.

PAK'nSAVE Manukau remains closed but we will update on this shortly.

We ask our customers to bear with us during this time and we apologise for the inconvenience.

"The upgrade will ensure a better and brighter supermarket, one that is structurally very sound and a safe environment in which to shop", he said.  

The first step towards the investment of the overall upgrade is the internal ceiling, with work on this commencing three weeks ago. 

The renovations are estimated to be complete in three months, and to ensure that there is minimal disruption to customers, all construction will occur in the evenings, outside of peak shopping times.

"We value our customers and want to ensure that they continue to have the best shopping experience. Due to this, the upgrade will cause little disruption and minimal impact on our shoppers", says Mr Bond.

Customers can look forward to some exciting changes in store with new refrigeration systems, floor coverings and checkouts, all enhancing the new look and feel of New World South City.

"We all went through a lot in 2011, but now we are moving forward and these renovations are testament to this. With the developments to our store, we will see an improved supermarket interior which continues to deliver great value, range and service", says Nigel.

There's a spacious new entrance foyer with a 20-seat wifi cafe and outside courtyard for those customers that want to take a break from the hustle and bustle to chill out for a while.

Supermarket owner, Kathy Frampton says the sushi bar and specialty cheese cabinet, plus the increased range of international and gluten free items are just some of the exciting inclusions in the revamped supermarket as well as an extensive selection of wine and craft beers.

"We really want to thank everyone who has supported us over the last 12 months or so. While we've done everything to make it as easy for our shoppers as possible, we know there have been inconveniences at times, and we thank everyone very much for their patience. From the feedback we have been receiving, people are really enjoying the new facilities."

In a special "thank you" this Saturday 31 March, New World Northwood will hold a street party style celebration in the car park and store to launch the new refit and extensions.  

With children's activities and games, balloon man, a sausage sizzle, bouncy castle, candy floss, in store sampling, lucky spins with Red Hot and Dixie jazz band playing to set the tone - everything is in place for a great day to be had by all. The party will run from 1-6pm.

Vinod Bhaga, the owner/operator of the store says, "We want to bring the country's lowest food prices to Silverdale and provide choice to our customers.  We are proud to be part of the Silverdale community and provide 200 jobs to locals.  The new store looks amazing and I can't wait to open the doors on Tuesday 27 March."

The 6,540m² PAK'nSAVE will have 330 car parks, 24 checkouts and a fuel outlet on site.

The store will be officially opened by Councillor Penny Webster at 8.15am, Tuesday 27 March 2012.  All are welcome to attend the opening and experience PAK'nSAVE's policy of New Zealand's lowest food prices.

Quick facts:

• PAK'nSAVE Silverdale opens 27 March 2012
• Locally owned and operated by Vinod Bhaga
• 6,540m² store with 24 checkouts and 330 carparks
• 200 jobs
• At the signalised intersection of East Coast Rd and Hibiscus Coast Highway

Anderson continues, "We are committed to keeping PAK'nSAVE Wainoni trading while we build the replacement store. Engineers have confirmed the structural integrity of the existing building is safe, but the costs required to fix the superficial damage means that it is more cost effective to build a new store from scratch."

Lianne Dalziel, Member of Parliament for Christchurch East says she is pleased the private sector is starting to re-invest in the eastern suburbs. "It has been a long, hard road for many Christchurch residents, many of whom have lost both their homes and jobs in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Foodstuffs' commitment to keeping its staff employed while creating a new store for the eastern suburbs is commendable."

"Ensuring the largest supermarket in the area remains operational is critical for the surrounding communities. I would like to appeal to local councils and government bodies to continue to work with businesses like Foodstuffs to ensure such re-builds can be completed as soon as possible. It is vital to the regeneration of our communities that the private sector is able to invest in the region, and expediting the processes needs to be a top priority," concludes Dalziel.

According to Anderson, building new stores next to existing stores is common practice, as this allows the original store to continue trading and providing customers with their everyday supermarket services. In this case, Foodstuffs feels it is even more important to keep the store operational as the impact of shutting the store would be devastating for staff and customers who are already under significant stress due to the events of recent months.

The resource consent process is currently underway with the council, and Foodstuffs hopes to begin building the new supermarket and fuel site in the next few months. "Feedback from staff and customers is that they really want us to keep the store open, and that they are looking forward to a new and improved PAK'nSAVE in the eastern suburbs. In the meantime they are happy to make do with the current store - which is in need of refurbishment but is structurally sound," says Anderson.

It is our understanding that the fault created in our point of sale systems stemmed from an error relating to today's date, February 29. Our sister companies in the upper north island and south island were unaffected as they have different point of sale systems.

We would like to apologise to all of our customers for any inconvenience caused and we thank everyone for their patience this morning while we worked to remedy the situation.

Overseas trends show that urban shoppers tend to shop daily instead of weekly and purchase smaller amounts each time, while expecting high quality produce, and natural and prepared foods. New World Metro owner-operator Harry Chawla says he's confident that customers will be blown away by the quality of the supermarket, and will include a visit to the store as part of their daily routine.

"Whether it's a coffee and muffin for breakfast, a freshly made hot ham roll for lunch, or a gourmet ready-meal for dinner, we'll have what they need at New World Metro. It's perfect for people wanting to grab some last minute groceries for dinner as well. From prime cuts of sirloin steak, to snapper unloaded from the fishing boat that morning, we have the freshest and highest quality products you'll find in the CBD," says Chawla.

New World has a proven record in catering to inner-city supermarket shoppers, with two successful metro style stores already well established in the Wellington CBD area.

Foodstuffs Auckland Managing Director Murray Jordan says New World's unique expertise in metro-style supermarket retailing, its focus on fresh produce, its exceptional customer service, and the 100 percent locally owned and operated store model, gives them a unique advantage over competitor offerings.

"Inner city shoppers are actually quite different to our usual suburban customers. Our research shows that over 74% are renters, and half are between the ages of 20 and 29. Four years ago there were 84,550 workers in the CBD, and in another four years resident numbers are expected to grow to over 31,000, so it's certainly an important customer base for us.

"In 2003, a survey conducted by the Auckland City Council found that 49 percent of inner city residents considered the availability of supermarkets in the area needed improvement, so we've definitely come a long way since then," concludes Jordan.

New World Metro is located in the basement of the former BNZ tower building at 125 Queen St, and will be open Monday to Friday 7am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am to 10pm.