An IGA is always a godsend at desperate times. Open from 6am til midnight 365 days of the year, they can solve many last-minute crises. The New Farm IGA is my local grocery store and also has a separate gourmet deli section adjoining. During the Brisbane floods last year, the IGA was one of the few supermarkets that stayed open the majority of the time until a power outage put even them out of business for the day.
The staff are lovely and the turnover seems pretty slow, so you'll get to know the faces of your checkout assistants quite well. There is always a good selection of fresh fruit and vegies available, but the meat range can be limited at times. Everything is a little more expensive than you'd expect to pay at a larger store, but for the convenience of an 11pm shopping trip, a little extra cash is worth it. read more