While Ōamaru is spoilt for choice when it comes to decent lunch offerings, there have been murmerings on the street about a lack of a decent takeaway sandwich or salad. 

Enter Housekeepers Pantry. 

Just around the corner from Housekeepers Design, but in the same building, Housekeepers Pantry opened on Harbour Street on Monday (July 22), and is the realisation of a long-time dream for Sally-Ann Donnelly.

“It's always been a stupid dream of mine to go and open a wee deli sandwich shop.”

Sally-Ann has a love of cooking and producing good food, and since selling Fat Sally’s Pub and Restaurant, the Ōamaru business owner has missed being in the hospitality industry. 

Once she made the decision to go ahead, it only took a couple of months to make the dream a reality, Sally-Ann says.

“I thought, we've got this space that we just fill up with stuff that we don't need, so we'll go in there.”

The aim is to keep things simple. Good sandwiches and good salads.

“Real basic, real good, tasty food,” she says.

Club sandwiches, or a slow-cooked beef and salad on Harbour St Bakery focaccia were on offer at Housekeepers Pantry on Monday, along with some tasty looking salad options.

But there’s definitely something for those that love a bit of fancy too, with delicious cookies - Monday’s were “loaded” raspberry cheesecake, or coffee and caramel - and flat croissants (Google it).

Sally-Ann is “so lucky” to be reunited with chef Chloe Kyles, who cooked for her when she owned Portside Restaurant (now Del Mar Eatery and Beach Bar), while longtime staff member Anna Beveridge is the main friendly face greeting people in-store.

As the name suggests, Housekeepers Pantry also has a selection of deli and pantry goods that can't be found elsewhere in town, such as dried pastas, sauces, a selection of oils and vinegars, The Caker cake mixes, and house-made offerings such as mini meringues, puffed quinoa, and crostini.

“There's something for everybody that comes in,” Sally-Ann says. “Eventually, down the track, I really want to get into platter stuff for Fridays. You can come in and buy your nibbles for your platter for the weekend.”

So far the support from locals has been great, she says.

“We’re very, very lucky. We live in such a great little town, really, don't we?” 

Housekeepers Pantry is open Monday to Friday, from 10.30am to 3.30pm. There will be a phone pre-ordering system put in place and the salads and sandwiches on offer will be posted on the Housekeepers Pantry Facebook page daily.

Some of the pantry items available instore.