SELF-driving cars were around the Greenbah area of Moree well before Elon Musk and his mates started selling them – just ask some of the locals.

They reckon, without fail, their vehicles automatically pull in to the iconic Greenbah Store on their way home each afternoon.

The store, well-known for old-fashioned customer service similar to the corner stores of yesteryear, is the last stop for milk, bread, groceries and a chat with owners Snow and Tracie Miller and their friendly staff.

The store has been a regular drop-in for locals since the doors were first opened in the late 1960s by Yiannis “Johnny” Georgalis, who started out the back with a market garden in the early days.

Now, after 19 years behind the counter, Tracie and Snow have decided to call it a day.

They’ve sold the store, and plan to catch up on nearly 20 years of sleep after 3.30am rise-and-shines, seven days a week.

Tracie and Snow – real name Cliff – purchased the Greenbah Store from Jeff and Sue Greenaway in 2006.

At the time, Snow was a delivery driver for PDF Food Services and Tracie was working at Mitre 10 and Telstra.

“We both wanted a change and Jeff told Snow he was going to sell. Snow delivered milk to the store regularly and Jeff reckoned he would be a great shop-keeper,” Tracie said.

“After thinking about it, we thought working for ourselves would be great.

“As kids, my cousins  and my siblings would walk to the Greenbah Store with returnable bottles and get 10 cents to buy  lollies and ice-creams – I had no idea that one day I would own the shop,” she laughed.

(from left) The Greenbah Store’s new co-owner, Toheed Rana, new employee Sheraz Ahsan, Snow Miller, new co-owner Wally Shafique and Tracie Miller . The iconic store reopened on April 8 under new ownership.

Tracie said there’s been some memorable in-store moments over the years.

“I once had a snake under my desk during the mouse plague. I thought it was a mouse that had run over my foot, but then it disappeared,” Tracie said.

Seconds later, Tracey discovered a snake in a mesh-style mouse trap she had under the office desk.

“I saw the trap move and showed Snow – he hates snakes and had a fit,” she laughed.

“That was the third snake we had in the shop. We also have a Greenbah Store frog who lives at the door.

“Most kids love him but we had one kid run in, take the frog and take off. I chased him and got the frog back!”

As well as the good times, Snow said there were a few mountains to climb over the years.

“We’ve seen drought, and we didn’t think we would get through. It was a scary time for us and the farmers . . . farmers are a big part of the business,” Snow said.

Incredibly, Snow and Tracie never took holidays in 19 years.

“We even opened Christmas Day for 17 years and every Good Friday and Easter Sunday, until last year when we had Good Friday off,” Snow said.

Tracie says the golden rule to owning and running a business like the Greenbah Store is simple – be prepared to work hard.

“We have fun and laugh a lot with customers. We love to chat to everyone and we love being our own bosses. We fight sometimes, mostly because we spent too much time together in the shop and Snow thinks he’s always right,” Tracie grinned.

Snow and Tracie Miller have sold the Greenbah Store after 19 years.

The Greenbah Store reopened today, April 8, and new owners, Wally Shafique and Toheed Rana, reckon the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, is a perfect fit as they take the reins of one of Moree’s best-known businesses.

“This is a great store, a famous store, and it’s a great honour to continue the tradition from Tracie and Snow,” Wally said.

“Everything will be the same, and we’ll be keeping all the staff and key workers. We’ll also make sure the high quality remains the same.

“We will keep the same quality and same staff. I’ll work mornings and Toheed will work afternoons, and we’ll try and find more staff if we can.

“Tracie and Snow will be around for a few days as well to give us a hand,” Wally said.

Once the changeover is complete, Tracie and Snow will enjoy a well-earned rest.

Their daily shift at the store started at around 4.15am, seven days a week, with staff arriving at 5am.

After 12 hours behind the counter, there was cleaning and restocking to do when the doors closed at 6pm.

“I would leave most days between 6-7pm but Snow would stay back to finish mopping and cleaning up, and get things ready for the next day – all the things a shop-owner does,” Tracie said.

Slowing down is now on the roster for Tracie and Snow.

“We plan to do a bit of traveling and spend time with my mum and grand-daughters,” Tracie said.

“We’ll have probably a year off doing that and then maybe a bit of casual work for Snow.

“I’m trying not to work due to health reasons, but we’ll see. In the last four weeks, we’ve both been offered jobs but at the moment, we just need a rest,” she said.

Going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark seven days a week was the standard for 19 years.

But, Tracie says, it’s been a ride she wouldn’t change one iota.

“We do love the shop and have loved meeting our customers and their families – we’ve seen customers with babies, and now those babies are driving cars,” Tracie said.

It’s quite possible, those cars are finding their own way to the Greenbah Store each day, just like they’ve been doing for all these years.

“It’s been a great experience, and we wouldn’t change a thing,” Tracie said.