Kmart shoppers nostalgic over ‘amazing’ details in 36-year-old photo

When a Reddit user recently shared a picture of Holly’s café, which used to be a feature of Aussie Kmart stores, it wasn’t long before people were fondly recollecting times and food they’d enjoyed there.

“You just ignited so many memories from my childhood that were locked in the back of my brain. I always used to annoy mum to get us food at our local Kmart. It’s amazing how different Kmart feels these days,” one member of the AustralianNostalgia subreddit reminisced.

This photo of Holly’s café in an Aussie Kmart store circa 1987 has ignited many a fond memory. Source: Coles Group

“I barely remember this place but the crinkle cut fries are bringing it back,” another shopper shared. In fact, many people happily recalled the chips and gravy they used to eat on an outing to the discount retailer. “Memorable times with my mum, taking me to get a Freddo frog in a jelly cup and we would slide the tray towards the till,” another customer recalled of the snacks available at the café.

“Back when Kmart used to sell tyres, motor oil, car batteries, nuts and bolts, fabric by the metre, plants, garden mulch etc. You could also get paint tinted and keys cut,” another Redditor mentioned of the store’s former services. Others recalled the store selling guns while many in the thread marvelled at images of customers smoking cigarettes while dining at Holly’s café, unthinkable behaviour by today’s standards.

“Thanks for the trip down memory lane. How could I forget Kmart had a garden section where you could buy real plants. My mum would always drag us kids there before heading to the front of the store where the registers once were,” another customer wrote.

Back in the ’80s, smoking in a department store café was nothing out of the ordinary. Source: Coles Group

Australian Kmart stores around the country had a Holly’s café in the late 1980s and early ’90s. The last one was at the Horsham store and was finally closed in 2010. Rumours that Kmart was toying with the idea of bringing back the eatery circulated in 2019 when the retailer celebrated 50 years in business, but proved to be unfounded.

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