Christchurch grocer Harvest Market barred from selling meat puts fish on the shelf instead

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

An independent supermarket unable to sell meat has found an alternative protein to attract customers.

Harvest Market on Ferry Rd in Christchurch has partnered with Theo’s Fisheries, a long-standing family-owned Christchurch business.

Harvest Market owner Elliott Booth said he had to “find different ways to get through” after The Mad Butcher won a two-year butchery ban against Harvest Market, alleging one of its franchisee couples had colluded with their son's friend to launch a competing butchery.

“People are getting really excited about it. Now we’ve let the fish out of the net, people keep asking, ‘when is it coming?’”

Harvest Market owner Elliott Booth can’t put meat on the shelves so he’s branching out to fresh seafood with one of Christchurch’s most popular fishmongers.

The store aims to start selling fresh seafood from Wednesday, pending a Christchurch City Council food consent.

A fish window will be serviced by Theo’s Fisheries co-owner Yianni Ioannou, one of the brothers who took over the family business.

Booth said having someone who has grown up with fish in-store would help customers choose the right seafood to suit their needs, and budget.

It’s a first for Yotti, left, and Yianni Ioannou, right, of Theo’s Fisheries - partnering with another business and branching out from their Riccarton Rd establishment.

“A lot of people don’t know how to cook fish. They’ll be able to talk to someone who’s a fish expert, how to prepare it and what food would go with it.”

Theo’s Fisheries was founded in 1950 on Riccarton Rd by the great-uncle of current owners and brothers Yianni and Yotti Ioannou, the fourth generation to run the business. After buying a butchery, Papageorge switched it from meat to fish - a familiar story for Booth at Harvest Market.

Yotti said it was the first time the store had partnered with another business or expanded beyond its original site and, despite being approached with offers throughout the decades, “we’re fiercely protective of our reputation and brand”.

Harvest Market hopes to get fish on the shelves on Wednesday, offering east Christchurch a variety of seafood.

“We had never really been looking for anything until this fell into our lap. It was a mutually beneficial situation we couldn’t say no to.

“We’re so excited. We’ve got so much to offer the east side of Christchurch.”

He said there was a perception that fish had to be expensive, but there was “so much variety and so much seasonal fish” that it gave him a chance to expand consumers’ horizons about what they could affordably put on their plate.

“We’re really focused on bringing the value into fresh fish.

“New Zealand has the variety to please every demographic.”