Brisbane has come a long way over the years but it can still be frustrating trying to get a decent…read moremeal late at night. Hospitality workers, shift labourers and the inveterately disorganised know this fact only too well - if you end up trying to sort out dinner after the 9pm mark on a weekday you won't be able to get anything from the major supermarkets and your takeaway options will be seriously limited. That's why I appreciate the role of chains like IGA. To me, they represent the happiest compromise possible between a 24-hour convenience store and a full-blown supermarket. IGA Milton has an especially good range and boasts impressive opening hours: 6am - midnight 365 days a year (foreign readers from countries where 24-hour supermarkets are easy to find will have to excuse my excitement)! The deli here is quite gourmet, with a good selection of salamis and prosciutto as well as an array of olives. There are also some wholesome ready to eat salads and other heat-and-eat options like tortilla stacks. The nearby cheese selection showcases a well sourced selection of brie, camembert, blue and many others. I've even bought a very tasty pre-made sand crab lasagne from the refrigerated section. I suppose we have the area's high socio-economic status to thank for these epicurean touches.

Yep, I'm jumping on the bandwagon to rave about Baroona Road IGA. Such a sellout, aren't I? Hardly…read more Have you ever tried getting a park in Baroona Road Centro? It's a nightmare! My roommate laughs at me every time I say I'm popping down there for groceries and sarcastically wishes me luck getting a park, and he's not wrong. It's every man for himself when it comes to parking at this place. Horrible parking experiences aside though, this IGA is a godsend. The amount of times I've panicked when I've had nothing to take to work for lunch the next day or I've run out of milk and this place has saved me, I simply cannot count. One particular occasion I forgot it was a coworker's birthday the next day so I frantically rushed into Milton IGA at around 11pm and quickly swiped up a chocolate mud cake. It's a constant topic of conversation in my house how amazing the Baroona Road IGA's opening hours are. 6am to 12am every night; how does it get any better than that? Plus it's a TINY place, and yet I always seem to be able to find everything my heart desires. How do they manage to pack all that stuff into this tiny little space? Beats me, but they do. I prefer it to even larger supermarkets where they'd have about five hundred different brands of washing powder or mango juice because Baroona Road IGA always has what I need. For a small place, it has a ridiculously amazing selection of gourmet cheeses and healthy cooking options, plus a better range of caesar salads than I see in larger IGAs or Woolworths stores. Rather than go to Toowong's large and probably cheaper Coles, I prefer to go here. It's more convenient, and the selection is excellent. It's far better than any other chain grocery store I've experienced thus far. Everything is super easy to find whether you're in a rush or planning a larger shop. Because of Baroona Road IGA, I never go hungry. If you're a Milton/Auchenflower local, you'll find that you cherish and appreciate this IGA as much as me; if you survive the rat race of the car park out front, that is.

Standard, run of the mill 7-Eleven store. Range within this store is comparable to others. There is…read morea private car park and it is located next to a couple of bottle shops if you need to buy beer with your potato chips.

This little convenience store has saved my butt many times. When I've been missing an ingredient…read morefor a recipe a quick trip here has solved the problem. It's much quicker to get to and home again than a trip to Chermside. It's small and stocks the basics. Usually closed by 9pm but open nearly all public holidays. They now have a small ATM just inside the door and eftpos available if spending over $5.

The store owner and staff here are pretty friendly unless of course you're a shoplifter. Then…read moreyou'll end up with your photo on their Wall of Shame. I was pretty impressed by this old school style of naming and shaming which has long since been abandoned by Seven Elevens and the IGAs. It's not just this old fashion method of deterring shoplifters which sets apart this corner shop in Holland Park. They combine all the modern conveniences with eighties corner shop paraphernalia. There are two arcade games at the front of the shop as well as gumball machines which looks like their content hasn't been changed since the eighties. Inside the shop, I was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of fruit, vegies and pantry ingredients stocked. I would go so far as to call it a 'small supermarket' than a convenience store. There's also a handy Bank of Queensland ATM outside.

Oh look, yet another convenience store in West End. What is it about this place that makes it so…read moreconducive to having such a large number in operation? It must be all the munchies going on. What sets this place apart is the amount of Asian groceries you can get here. The store has about four aisles, two of which are dedicated to Asian 'cuisine'. The inverted commas are necessary because I'm not sure two minute noodles, no matter how many Chinese characters appear on the packaging, can be considered cuisine. But it is a tiny supermarket so I don't think they can be criticised for their choice to stock long-life products. Of course they still have the same stuff every other convenience store does; cold drinks, snacks, basic ingredients and toiletries and pre-paid phone credit. I like that this one has a little something extra.

I've always wondered what the W in W supermarket stood for…read more For a while I thought it was for Westend, but now I'm sure it's for WHATEVER. (And it really does offer a hodgepodge of products that fall under the "Whatever you could possibly Need from a convenience store" umbrella.) My favourite aspect of this store is the large range of asian groceries on display, from hello pandas, pockys and chocolate to shampoos, noodles and dried ginger there is something to satisfy everyones wants. Be sure to also check out their fridge full of delectable asian ice creams (Green Tea or blue lemonade = my life guys) Right on Melbourne St, This little store is well worth a peep in when cruising through Westend.

Like all convenience stores this one is over priced in some of the products but it is to be…read moreexpected. They do have a small range of of groceries in the store bread, pastas, drinks, emergency items really. All the Staff i have been served by have been nice and always get good service. This store is not open 24 Hours anymore and think it closes at 11pm weeknights.

The local corner store is an institution around the world with many entrepreneurial types setting…read moreup shop with the intention of providing the day to day essentials of modern life. There are factors common amongst each of these stores but it is the little differences I have always found interesting. Given that the major selling point of the local convenience store is the convenience of its locality many of these businesses just don't try very hard. If the choice is between walking one hundred metres or driving five minutes to pick up some milk, there is an immediate advantage to the corner store. One such establishment can be found on Banks Street and it has the lived in, run down appeal of the family run institution it has become. Walking into this little shop feels more like popping into a neighbours house to borrow some sugar, their paper and three litres of milk than the exercise in capitalism it is. There is rarely someone at the counter but the flyscreen door behind it that runs down towards the family's living room allows whoever is home to hear if someone has entered the store. I've always been greeted with a smile and it never feels like I am testing the attendants patience when I can't settle on a purchase.

I love corner stores. They never have the fluoro lighting that haunts 711's and sure, you pay a…read morebit more but at least you know you're helping out a family and not a major corporation. This little convenience store has a truly eclectic range of stock, and although the range is tiny I've always managed to find what I need. Not a place to do your grocery shopping, but indispensable for the last minute forgotten item.