Local Focus: Meet Whanganui's radiator mechanic serving up spring treats for Christmas

It's asparagus season again and in Whanganui's Guyton St, one particular shop has the pick of the crop. But it's a shop whose main business is not what you'd expect - repairing car radiators.

Motor Radiator Repairs Limited do industrial radiators, fuel tanks, everyday cars and asparagus.

"Yes, we've got the asparagus on the side," owner Shane Terry said. "That started in 1996."

"We sell a lot of asparagus" Radiator mechanic, Shane Terry. Photo by Georgie Ormond

The radiator shop has existed since the 1950s but it was the previous owner, Terry's old boss, who branched out after moving to a lifestyle block in Maxwell.

"He just started growing [asparagus] and selling it here and it just grew stronger and stronger," Terry said. "People from Taranaki, Manawatū, Ruapehu ... they come all this way just to buy the asparagus."

For loyal customers, whether they're there for a radiator leak or the asparagus, this side-hustle is a local institution.

Nowadays the asparagus is grown in Feilding but it's still sold from a cubby hole at the shop and appears fresh daily from October through to Christmas. Shane's mother Margaret Terry is at the window, always with a rose on the table.

For loyal customers, this side-hustle is a local institution. Photo by Georgie Ormond

But for those planning to buy their asparagus on Christmas eve, Shane has a warning.

"That's when we do Christmas orders, because we sell a lot of asparagus on those two days," he said. "It pays to put an order in otherwise you miss out."

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