Lengthy trips to Canberra no longer required for Nepalese, Indian and Asian groceries in Bega

Raymond Grocery Store is named after owner Ramesh Adhikari's five-month old son

Mr Adhikari said the idea to open the Nepalese, Indian and Asian grocery supplies business came from his own need for ingredients that he found impossible to source locally.

"To buy those things I used to have to go to Canberra every month to get lots of stuff," Mr Adhikari said.

"I tried to find out anything online and around, the closest was Canberra. Friends are also going there, or Sydney, sometimes Melbourne.

"And I think, why not start here?"

Mr Adhikari, a baker and pastry chef by trade, moved to the area in 2021, initially purchasing Merimbula's Inthemix Bakery & Café, before adding Bega's Inthemix Bakery & Café in February 2022.

His new store contains an extensive list of ingredients at your fingertips including kidney and black beans, blue peas, Nepalese and Indian teas, flours, freshly cut and frozen mutton, baby goat, buffalo, goat intestines, wild boar and fish meat, a variety of oils, spices in bulk, jars of pickles, and soups.

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They have fresh vegetables, though they are hoping to collaborate with more local farmers.

Customers on the day ACM visited, Christine and her husband Michael approached the front counter and placed multiple items next to the register.

A large glass jar of sour bamboo shoot - "perfect for very Australian curries" - and cardamom seeds which "are very hard to get."

"I think it is wonderful because I think this [place] is really something we've needed," Christine said.

"[With this store, it is] great to have that broader option," her husband Michael added.

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