J. W. Berry & Co.

Joseph William Berry took over the Handy Food Supply store in Nicholas Street previously run by S. Eade. It was October 1912 and Berry intended specialising in cooked meats and smallgoods.  There was also a tea room serving meals. At first, he traded under the Handy Food Supply sign but eventually the firm became  J. W. Berry & Co. Years later the shop would simply be known as Berry's.

The shop was located 2 doors from the intersection of Nicholas & Brisbane Streets. In the 1930s the Commonwealth Bank was on the corner with the Bank Fruit Shop or Levette's Fruit Supply situated next door to J. W. Berry. 

Berry's supplied Ipswich with all kinds of meats, although Christmas hams were perhaps most in demand. They also sold bacon, camp pie, devilled ham, frankfurts, sausages, pates, luncheon cheese and tinned delicacies. The shop was a combination delicatessen and butcher. In the 1920s there were also 18 different kinds of sandwiches available. 

In 1926 J. W. Berry & Co. made news when a "modern freezing compartment" (4 feet 6 inches square) was installed thus requiring some reorganisation of the shop to fit it in. The electric freezer/refrigerator had been custom made for optimum storage of small goods and was believed to be the first of its type in Australia. 

When Joseph William Berry died in 1934, his son William (Bill) took over and the business endured for many more years.

Berry's remained at their Nicholas Street address for at least 47 years. The building was demolished in 1987 as part of the revitalisation of the Ipswich CBD. 

J. W. Berry lived in Park Street and was very active in various clubs, associations and lodges around Ipswich. He was also an Ipswich council alderman from 1927-1934.