It is one of the country's most famous streets, home to 600 independent businesses from cafes and bars to clothing and record stores.
Now Aucklanders can have their very own slice of the iconic Karangahape Road as businesses take support local to a whole new level with a neighbourhood loyalty scheme.
Priceless artefacts from K Road's past and present are up for grabs from vintage suits to a personalised K Road number plate in exchange for receipts from local businesses.
A queue of keen shoppers filled the street from 7am on Thursday morning in anticipation of the Karangahape Returns store opening for the first time.
A queue of keen shoppers filled the street from 7am. Photo: Nick Monro
Seventeen weird and wonderful items are up for grabs from a vintage Leo O'Malley suit to bottled pasta water from Coco's Cantina restaurant.
Those waiting in line before the doors opened had their eyes on the prize.
"We've actually been here since 8.30am so we've got our eye on a few things.
"There's that Vegas girl keyring, which is pretty sick, get a deck of cards maybe, and then the K Road cologne."
"I haven't been up to the store window yet, but I've heard there's a K Road number plate that could be quite nice on my car."
But there is a catch, loyalty is the currency, so items can only be paid for with receipts from nearby businesses.
Items could only be paid for with receipts from nearby businesses. Photo: Nick Monro
Shoppers were armed with stacks of them seeking some of the big ticket items.
Karangahape Road Business Association general manager Jamey Holloway said it is a chance to utilise the creativity of K Road's businesses and residents in these testing times.
"When you've got an economy that sucks, you go back to your strengths, which is your creativity.
"So, where things can be framed as problems in this neighbourhood, they tend to be opportunities to come up with weird, wonderful solutions."
A deck of cards up for grabs. Photo: Nick Monro
The cost for the products ranges from one receipt to purchase a product up to a whooping 583 receipts - which will get you one month's lease on K Road.
The first customer Jodie Kennedy snapped up the last bottle of the limited edition perfume, Road by Karangahape, which launched in 2023.
It was highly sought after, with local business owner Kenah Trusewich who runs Small Rave party company just missing out.
"I just bought 21 bags of candy, but I found out someone in front of me wants the same thing, so I've got to pivot I wanted the perfume, but now I've got to find something else with 21 receipts. "
Kenah Trusewich instead settled on a large cardboard cutout of Richie and Gemma McCaw.
A large cardboard cutout of Richie and Gemma McCaw were up for grabs. Photo: Nick Monro
Lambs Pharmacy owner Suresh Rama donated the cut-out and admits he was sad to see it go after three years.
The Karangahape Returns store. Photo: Nick Monro
"It's an iconic presence that we will miss but all things move on, and somebody else is going to have great fun and advantage with that.
"A couple of times somebody tried to run away with him, but we managed to retrieve him, but we let him go... my staff are saying bring back Richie."
Lambs Pharmacy owner Suresh Rama meeting Richie McCaw. Photo: RNZ
Rama even met Richie McCaw back when the All Blacks were training for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and showed RNZ a photo he had printed in the shop.
Lambs Pharmacy owner Suresh Rama. Photo: Nick Monro
After running the pharmacy on K Road for 30 years, he was thrilled to pe part of the initiative.
"It's a bit of fun, you give a little by buying something from the shops, but you get a lot when you exchange it for the goodies, which are great."
The K Road store front is open until 20 September or while stocks last.
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