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Supplied/Supplied
Mataura resident Tina Waitaika, centre, shows off her $9,999 gift voucher beside Four Square Mataura owners Amy and Luke Bartlett.
Tina Waitaika first thought winning $9,999 worth of Four Square gift vouchers was a scam, but one quick trip down to her local store confirmed the win was real.
Waitaika live fours houses down from her local Mataura Four Square and when she got the email she had won the store’s grand birthday prize she walked over to confirm.
“I’m quite good friends with the owners Luke and Amy, so I walked over to the store, and they were able to confirm the win was legitimate,” Waitaika said.
She said there are too many things going around these days, you had to be cautious.
The prize was part of Four Square’s 99th birthday promotion, which ran from June 29 to July 9.
Customers had the chance to go in the draw to win a $99 voucher from their local shop or the “whooping” $9,999 prize for one lucky South Island winner. All customers had to do was spend over $20 and fill out a form and they were in to win.
Waitaika won the grand prize earlier this month and said Four Square Mataura had been her choice of supermarket for nearly 50 years.
Her home had once been her grandparents and Waitaika has lived in the house her whole life.
She said she had fond memories of her and her grandparents walking over to the Four Square for a shop when she was a young kid back before it was even a Four Square.
For owners Amy and Luke Bartlett, they were stoked that one of their “favourite” customers came through with the winning ticket.
“Mataura is a small town of only about 1600 people, so to have one of our favourite local customers win was awesome and very well-deserved,” Amy said.
The Bartletts have owned the Four Square since October 2017 and according to Luke, the store had had a few “big wins” in the past which had earned them a reputation of being “the lucky store” among the community.
Waitaika said the Bartletts are “brilliant” and the staff are always friendly. She praised the diverse range of products the store has to offer.
“Everyone is always so nice and lovely, and there are so many different things you can get there, the range is always expanding. I walked in there yesterday, and they were selling fresh homemade pizzas.”
Waikaita plans to share her winnings with her two sons.
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