A ''Save Our Store'' meeting will be held on Thursday night in Naseby, as residents rally to retain the town's general store, and community ownership is one of the options being canvassed.
Naseby Vision has called the meeting and group chairman John Crawford said it was important to ''save'' the shop.
There had been a general store in Naseby since the town was settled more than 150 years ago, he said.
Alastair and Kay Watt have owned the shop for six years and plan to close it at the end of this month.
''It's been on the market for a couple of years and we can't really afford to keep it going,'' Mr Watt said yesterday.
''It's too seasonal. It's busy over Christmas and New Year, and over long weekends, but quiet the rest of the time.''
The town's permanent population is 100-120 but swells to 1000 or 2000 over the Christmas holidays.
Mr Watt said it was time to go.
''It's a bit sad really, a mixture of sadness and relief, I guess.''
The couple live in Ranfurly and commute to the store. Mr Watt also works off-site.
Mr Crawford said everyone was welcome at Thursday's meeting: ''We're trying to get people to toss around ideas''.
One possible option was community ownership, using Faigan's Store at Millers Flat as an example.
That store has been owned by the community for about 26 or 27 years.
The community initially raised about $26,000 to buy the stock and plant and leased the building from the Faigan Family Trust.
It later bought the land and buildings, Faigan's Community Store Trust chairman Eoin Garden, of Millers Flat, said yesterday.
The initial contributors to the capital cost did so uwith no guarantee their funds would be paid back; nor was there an undertaking any interest would be paid on the fund, he said.
''The district made the commitment for the simple purpose of ensuring that the business continued in the district. It believed it was critical for the vibrancy of the community,'' Mr Garden said.
It continued as a grocery business, as well as providing other services to the community, including a postal service.
Mr Crawford said residents were sorry to hear of the Naseby store's pending closure.
''Given the reaction around town, it's a very important part of our community.
We've got three pubs and a cafe, but we don't want ... to have to travel 10km [to Ranfurly] for an ice cream.''
A small group of people met at the weekend to seek a solution ''and they've already come up with some ideas how it could be sustainable'', he said.
''The current owners have given it their best shot, so we're grateful to them and sympathise with them having to make this decision.''
Residents' post office boxes are at the store and a New Zealand Post spokeswoman said she was confident a solution to retain them would be reached over the next couple of weeks.
''We are ... working closely with PO box customers and the community on this, '' she said.
• Save Our Store meeting, Naseby Town Hall, Thursday, August 21, 6pm.
