Military Road Archives - Neutral Bay News

Inside Neutral Bay’s New Flannerys Organic Wholefood Market

Flannerys Organic & Wholefood Market/Facebook

Flannerys Organic Wholefood Market, the 50-year-old organic grocery chain founded as a small bulk wholefoods store in 1973, now has a home in Neutral Bay at Shop 15, Theo’s Arcade on Military Road, bringing certified organic produce, local artisan suppliers and free in-store naturopath advice to the lower north shore.

The Neutral Bay store marks Flannerys’ latest step in a steady Sydney expansion, following the success of its revamped Mona Vale location, which became the blueprint for how the brand wants to operate in the city. The Military Road location sits within easy reach of Neutral Bay’s core shopping and dining precinct, with parking accessible via Grosvenor Lane.

For a suburb that has been adding wellness studios, specialty food spots and lifestyle offerings at pace over recent years, Flannerys fills a gap that residents have been navigating around — the need to make multiple trips to cover organic groceries, supplements, health products and nutritional advice in a single outing is now solved in one Military Road stop.

A full shop, from produce to practitioner

Flannerys Neutral Bay operates as a genuine one-stop organic supermarket. The range covers certified organic fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, bakery goods, pantry staples, supplements and natural health products. Local and well-known suppliers sit alongside the core Flannerys range, including NATIV meats, Sonoma Bakery, Brickfields Bakery and Drink Rolly — a lineup that covers most of what a Neutral Bay household might reach for in a given week.

Photo Credit: Flannerys Organic & Wholefood Market/Facebook

What sets Flannerys apart from a standard health food retailer, though, is the naturopath counter. Qualified naturopaths are available on the shop floor for complimentary wellbeing advice, and private consultations can be booked on-site.

In a retail landscape where health advice is mostly self-directed through apps and Google searches, having a qualified practitioner available while you do the grocery run is a genuinely unusual offer.

Flannerys CEO Fergus Collins said the move into Neutral Bay reflects the alignment between the suburb’s lifestyle and the brand’s model. “Flannerys tends to resonate in communities where people are already thinking more intentionally about what they eat and how they live,” Collins said. “Neutral Bay has a strong appetite for quality food, wellness products and trusted advice, which aligns closely with what we offer.”

From Mrs Flannerys to Military Road

The brand’s history gives it a depth that newer wellness retailers can’t replicate. Flannerys started in 1973 as Mrs Flannerys, a small bulk wholefoods store built on the idea that food plays a central role in health. Over five decades it evolved into one of Australia’s most recognisable organic retail chains, now operated by The Natural Grocery Company with locations spanning from the Gold Coast to northern New South Wales.

The Mona Vale store’s success proved the Sydney market was ready for a fuller expression of the Flannerys model, and that location has become the template for what Neutral Bay now receives.

“The response in Mona Vale showed us that Sydney customers are looking for more than just products — they want knowledge and support as well,” Collins said. “We’re bringing that same philosophy to Neutral Bay.”

Finding Flannerys on Military Road

Flannerys Organic Wholefood Market is at Shop 15, Theo’s Arcade, Military Road, Neutral Bay. Parking is accessible via Grosvenor Lane. More information on the store, including naturopath consultation bookings, is available here.

Published 19-June-2026

Flannerys Organic Wholefood Market Opens New Store in Neutral Bay

Flannerys Organic & Wholefood Market/Facebook

Flannerys Organic Wholefood Market is bringing certified organic wholefoods, bulk pantry staples and an in-store naturopath service to the lower north shore with the opening of its newest store at Shop 15, Theo’s Arcade on Military Road, Neutral Bay.

The store opens on Friday 19 June and continues a steady run of expansion for a brand that began life in 1973 as a small shop in northern New South Wales. Founded by Mal and Berice Flannery on a simple premise that food is medicine, the business has spent more than five decades building a reputation for organic products and trusted health advice.

For Neutral Bay locals, the new store means certified organic fresh produce, bulk wholefoods, vitamins, supplements and natural health products are now available within walking distance, alongside the qualified naturopath consultations that have defined the Flannerys experience since its earliest days.

More than 50 years of organic retailing

What started as a modest local operation offering bulk wholefoods and natural supplements has grown into one of the most recognised organic retail brands on Australia’s east coast. The Flannery family sold the business in 2008, with the brand passing to new owners who carried forward the same founding philosophy.

Today it operates under The Natural Grocery Company, which also runs Fundies Wholefood Market and Kunara Organic Marketplace.

The brand marked 50 years in business in 2024, a milestone that reflects genuine longevity in a retail category that has seen plenty of competitors come and go. Flannerys now operates stores across Queensland in Benowa, Chermside, Maroochydore, Paddington, Miami, Robina, Tewantin and Victoria Point, alongside New South Wales locations in Mona Vale and Murwillumbah.

In-store health advice remains a key focus

The naturopath service is central to how Flannerys positions itself against standard health food retailers. Every store includes access to qualified naturopaths and nutritionists offering free, complementary wellbeing advice on the shop floor, with private clinic consultations also available for anyone wanting a more in-depth session.

Flannerys CEO Fergus Collins says the appeal comes down to trust built through direct access to expertise. “Flannerys fits into places where people are already thinking carefully about what they bring into their homes and how it supports the way they want to live,” he said.

“We want customers to be able to walk in, ask questions and feel confident in their choices. Having qualified naturopaths available in store has always been an important part of the Flannerys experience and something that continues to resonate strongly with our customers.”

Building on momentum in Sydney

The Neutral Bay opening builds directly on the momentum of Flannerys’ recently refurbished Mona Vale store, which was the brand’s first foothold in Sydney and has since been embraced by the local community. That response gave the company confidence to push further into the Sydney market.

“The response we have seen in Mona Vale has given us great confidence in Sydney and reinforced that there is a strong appetite for what Flannerys offers,” Collins said. “As the Neutral Bay area continues to evolve, so too does the expectation for spaces and services that support a more health conscious way of living. We look forward to becoming part of the community and providing an offering that makes everyday wellness easy and accessible.”

Flannerys Neutral Bay opens Friday 19 June at Shop 15, Theo’s Arcade, Military Road, Neutral Bay. For more information, click here.

Published 18-June-2026

Neutral Bay Set for Major Redevelopment Under $191 Million Approval

Sydney Build Expo/LinkedIn

Woolworths Group‘s development arm Fabcot has secured approval for a $191 million mixed-use project in Neutral Bay, bringing a 12-storey building to the Lower North Shore site that will bury the supermarket below ground and replace it with a new street-level plaza, retail, a medical centre and 97 apartments.

Approval was granted in May, three days after a Housing Delivery Authority rezoning lifted height controls on the 4,207-square-metre site, clearing the way for a project that caps a six-year push by Fabcot through a series of planning obstacles.

It is the first project in North Sydney to receive Housing Delivery Authority rezoning and State Significant Development approval at the same time, something Woolworths Group national general manager of mixed-use development Pierre Abrahamse said could help open the door for more projects across the area

The project is designed by Koichi Takada Architects and is scheduled to begin construction in 2026, with completion targeted for 2029.

Six years from proposal to approval

Fabcot first approached the planning process in 2020, engaging with the Military Road corridor and the Neutral Bay town centre with a scheme that was refused twice at the local level before being escalated to a state rezoning review and eventually the HDA pathway.

Photo Credit: Sydney Build Expo/LinkedIn

The earlier proposal had been shaped around a part-six and part-eight-storey scheme of approximately 62 apartments, a 1.8:1 minimum non-residential floor-space ratio and around 372 basement car spaces. The approved scheme is considerably more ambitious.

Height controls lifted from 26 metres and 31 metres to 31 metres and 44 metres under the HDA rezoning, and the minimum non-residential floor-space ratio fell to 1.5:1. The result is a taller, more mixed-use project with significantly more apartments, more commercial space and a stronger contribution to Neutral Bay’s public domain.

Local opposition remained strong throughout the process. Thirty of the 46 public submissions objected to the project, raising concerns about traffic, height, overshadowing, parking, affordable housing and the treatment of the Yeo Street boundary.

The state planning department backed the project, finding the site sat within the Neutral Bay town centre where greater height and mixed-use renewal were expected, noting that similar nine to 14-storey buildings already existed within 250 metres.

A closer look at the proposal

The approved scheme stacks a significant amount of program into a single building. At the base, a 1,100-square-metre plaza links Rangers Road, Yeo Street and Military Lane, creating a new piece of publicly accessible outdoor space in the heart of the commercial precinct.

Ten ground-floor retail tenancies activate the street edge, while the Woolworths supermarket moves to an underground position, freeing the street level for outdoor dining and movement.

Levels one to three house a medical centre providing a new health services anchor for the suburb. Above that sit 87 market apartments and 10 affordable apartments to be maintained at that tenure for 15 years, spread across a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom configurations.

The commercial component totals 6,575 square metres, while a covered through-site link from Yeo Street, eight metres wide and six metres high, provides weather-protected pedestrian movement through the site. The department accepted the covered link over the local preference for an open-to-sky break, finding the dimensions provided sufficient visual relief.

A suburb built around Military Road

Military Road became Neutral Bay’s commercial spine from the early 1870s, when a track running along the ridge from North Sydney towards Middle Head fortifications gradually attracted shops and businesses along its length. The suburb, known to the Cammeraygal people as Wirra-birra, was declared a neutral harbour by Governor Arthur Phillip in 1789 for foreign ships visiting Port Jackson.

The Military Road corridor has since evolved through trams, department stores, the Big Bear supermarket and decades of mixed commercial development, with mixed-use apartment buildings replacing earlier low-rise shopping strips across recent decades. The Fabcot project continues that long trajectory, this time at a scale made possible by the state’s housing fast-track framework.

The project will generate 263 construction jobs and 143 operational jobs on completion. Consent conditions include groundwater testing, wind, traffic, landscaping and construction management requirements before a construction certificate can be issued.

Published 18-May-2026

Military Road Nike Outlet Among Sydney Stores To Close After Franchisee Enters Liquidation

Photo Credit: Google Maps

The Nike store on Military Road has closed its doors permanently following the collapse of AF-1, the franchisee that operated the Neutral Bay outlet along with six other Nike stores across Sydney.

The franchisee, which had been operating for nearly two decades, has been forced into liquidation after losing its licensing agreement with Nike, leaving as many as 115 workers without jobs.

The Neutral Bay store, located at 185 Military Road on the corner of Rangers Road, was one of seven AF-1-operated Nike outlets affected by the sudden closure. Other stores included those at Pitt Street in the CBD, Bondi, Chatswood, Burwood, Warringah and Castle Hill.

Liquidator John Morgan from BCR Advisory has been appointed to manage the wind-up process and confirmed that eligible employee entitlements, including unpaid annual leave, wages and redundancy payments, will be covered under the Commonwealth Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.

The liquidator’s office has provided information to affected employees about how to apply for compensation through the federal funding program.

For customers holding gift certificates or store credits for the affected stores, the news is disappointing. These will not be honoured, as they represent unsecured claims against the franchisee.

Morgan stated that his office is working with Nike and landlords to arrange an orderly closedown of the shops and, where appropriate, facilitate the return of goods to Nike under existing supply arrangements.

A Nike spokesperson confirmed that agreements with AF-1 had ended “effective immediately” and said the company appreciated the partnership. Nike added it looks forward to continuing to serve consumers through its growing network of Nike stores, multibrand retail partners and online platform.

Other Sydney Nike stores not managed by AF-1 will continue to operate.

The closures add to a challenging period for Australian retail, with several major brands experiencing difficulties in recent times.

Published 1-October-2025

Eastview Secures Approval for $24 Million Mixed-Use Development in Neutral Bay

Photo Credit: North Sydney Council / Development Application (10.2022.00000404.001)

Eastview has received the green light for a $24 million six-storey residential and commercial project at 165 Military Road in Neutral Bay, occupying a prime 762 square metre site at the corner of Military and Wycombe Roads.

The development, designed by AE Design Partnership and Embece, will feature 21 apartments spread across levels two to five. The residential mix includes eleven two-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom apartments with additional study spaces, four three-bedroom apartments, and two three-bedroom penthouses.

At street level, the building will house two retail tenancies, totalling 384 square metres of commercial space. The project also incorporates three levels of underground parking, providing 25 car spaces, four motorbike spaces, and bicycle storage within the resident storage area.

The strategic location of the development places it within 400 metres of key local amenities, including Neutral Bay Public School and Redlands Seniors School, enhancing its appeal to potential residents.

The journey to approval for this project has not been without challenges. Initially refused in 2022, the proposal recently gained approval through the Land and Environment Court, marking a significant milestone for Eastview and the Neutral Bay community.

This development represents a notable addition to Neutral Bay’s urban landscape, blending residential and commercial spaces in a prime location. As the project moves forward, it is expected to contribute to the area’s growth and potentially influence future developments in the suburb.

Local residents and businesses will be watching with interest as construction begins on this new addition to the Neutral Bay skyline, which promises to bring new housing options and retail opportunities to the heart of the suburb.

Published 19-June-2024