Thomas Dux Grocer, also known as Thomas Dux, was an Australian chain of gourmet grocery stores operated by Woolworths from 2008 to 2017. It sold a range of local and imported fresh foods and grocery items. Products included fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, artisan-style baked breads, oils and vinegars, pasta and sauces, condiments, prepared meals, chocolate products, fresh meat and fresh flowers. Thomas Dux specialised in organic, gluten-free, preservative-free and free-range foods. Local boutique suppliers included Saskia Beer,

Maggie Beer Maggie Beer (born Margaret Anne Ackerman, 19 January 1945) is an Australian chef, food author, restaurateur, and food manufacturer. Beer is one of the judges on '' The Great Australian Bake Off'' alongside Matt Moran and is also a regular gues ...

, Simmone Logue, Herbies, Ornella, Phillippa's, Rowie's, Brasserie Bread, Irrewarra, Phillippa's and

Geoff Jansz Geoff Jansz (born 1958 ) is a Sri Lankan-born Australian chef and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1984, Geoff Jansz worked as a pharmacist, but later opened a restaur ...

. Fruit and vegetables were sourced directly from the wholesale markets in Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on a daily basis.

History

Woolworths launched Thomas Dux, an upmarket grocery store, in April 2008 with the first store in the Sydney suburb of

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

followed by another in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

. In May 2009, Woolworths announced the acquisition of eight boutique grocery store leases in Crows Nest, Hornsby and Mona Vale in Sydney, and Armadale, Black Rock,

Glen Waverley Glen Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Glen Waverley recorded a population of 42,642 at the 2021 census. History ...

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of ...

and Richmond in

from Macro Wholefoods, with the intention to rebadge the stores under the Thomas Dux brand.Woolworths Limited to expand Thomas Dux Grocer with acquisition of Macro stores
Woolworths 13 May 2009 The first of the rebadged stores opened in August 2009. From 2014, Woolworths started closing some stores, with speculation that the entire chain would be sold or closed. In September 2014, Woolworths closed the Thomas Dux store in

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

. The lease on the store was sold to About Life, a Sydney-based gourmet grocer. The Surry Hills store was the first of four leases Woolworths would ultimately sell to About Life by 2016. In May 2015 the Richmond store was sold to Little Group Projects, which then demolished it and built a 13-story apartment building on the land dubbed "Dux Richmond Hill". In January 2016 the Glen Waverley store was closed, and throughout the remainder of 2016 Thomas Dux's Hornsby store in was closed, while its Crows Nest, Lane Cove and Port Melbourne outlets were taken over by About Life. In 2017 the four remaining Thomas Dux stores were closed. The two remaining Melbourne locations, Black Rock and Armadale, as well as the Paddington store were rebranded as Woolworths Metro stores. The Mona Vale store was taken over by Flannerys. As of December 2017, Thomas Dux has ceased trading altogether. In 2021 the former Thomas Dux site at Black Rock was closed, and is believed to be reopening as a BWS or Dan Murphy's liquor outlet. As at June 2021, Woolworths continued to sell limited gourmet products like cheese under the Thomas Dux brand.Speciality cheeses from around the world
Woolworths This was similar to after buying Macro Wholefoods and closing their stores, but keeping the brand alive as a healthier food range on Woolworths shelves.

References

External links

* {{Woolworths Retail companies established in 2008 Retail companies disestablished in 2017 Woolworths Group (Australia) 2008 establishments in Australia 2017 disestablishments in Australia Defunct supermarkets of Australia