Recently a friend of mine was singing the praises of the Mornington shops and I joked with her that my local Green Island shops were better. However, upon reflection I admit she she was right. The Mornington business district has definitely got some real mojo going on. It might not be as popular as St Clair, but if it keeps attracting new and exciting business enterprises, then I don’t see why it can’t become a hot spot for locals.

First up is Mornington florist Linda and her lovely store Fallow & Fox. At Fallow and Fox, not only is there a bounty of fresh flowers passing through each week, but, there is also plenty of giftware. I have been supplying Linda with locally made wall dots of Dunedin scenery for the past few years, so, I know the popularity of her store. Simply put, Fallow and Fox delivers on what it does, and does it well.

Every top-notch suburb shopping precinct in Dunedin needs an attraction to draw locals in. St Clair has a beach, it’s hard to top. However, hold the phone, because Mornington might not have opened Disneyland on Mailer street, but they sure did hit a home run with the return of a local icon and new family fun attraction.. An absolute genius came up with the idea of restoring the old Mornington trams and housing two of them by the park. They are gorgeous, I find them so much nicer than the Toitu Cable Car display lost in the darkness of dingy fluorescent lighting..

Fun fact, I was told by the cable car volunteer in the old days kids used to jump up and down on the tram in unison to try and derail it as it went down the hill.

The cable car is a winner all day long for young and old and gets a big thumbs up. Plus, after you have had fun at the cable cars you simply cross the pedestrian crossing a few metres away, and on the other side of the road is a dedicated ice cream store to treat the kids with.

Patti’s & Cream is literally the new kid on the block as its been open less than a month. A quick check on their website shows they make a variety of exotic gourmet ice-creams. When I visited I overheard a customer say they didn’t like the idea of beer in an ice cream. He was given a sample of ‘Beer and Nuts’, and the first words out of his mouth were “that’s delicious.” Enough said.

We all know of (and have probably been part of) the huge cues that form outside the Rob Roy dairy just for an ice cream, well as it happens the cue has lined up down the Mailer Street all the way to he Night and Day for Patti’s & Cream. Surely that feat alone achieved in less than a month deserves a big tick.

Just next door is the Grid Coffee Roasters run by Gav and Nic. I’ve known Gav and Nic from their days running the Baldwin street cafe. I love this place, and it’s definitely a top spot to grab a coffee on the go

Nestled in with the Grid Coffee Roasters is another wee gem of a store, The Good Food Co. Anja (Daughter of Nic) has done a stunning job with the locally sourced and imported specialty goods. By all accounts you have to be quick in the morning to secure a fresh loaf of bread.

Was this a definitive guide to shopping in Mornington, no, there is loads of other shops. However, these are the shops turning my head, that made me rethink my understanding of this shopping precinct located near the heart of Dunedin City. If you haven’t popped in to experience Mornington of late, well, you might just be missing out.