DERRIS Stevens feels strange when she walks past the corner of Charles and Brisbane streets in Launceston.
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It is a place the Kings Meadows woman has a fond memory of, and when she sees it, it brings back those memories which she yesterday shared to celebrate Coles' 80th anniversary in Tasmania.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mrs Stevens worked at the Coles Variety Store, where Red Herring Surf and Portmans is now located.
She was the youngest employee working in the upstairs cafeteria.
``I was in charge of the hot foods,'' she said.
``It was a big, long stainless steel thing and it had big wells where you had your vegetables, then there was a big tray with meat or pies and then more at the other end with gravy and soup.''
Customers would enter the store, pick up a tray and cutlery and then go past the salads, hot foods, cakes and jelly, to the till.
Mrs Stevens said she loved being able to serve everyone as they walked in, but said it was hard work especially during school holidays when ``there would be a line the full length of the store''.
Mrs Stevens had to do a lot of cleaning, including making sure the stainless steel was perfect and at the end of the day, she had to empty the big buckets of food.
``I remember one day the potatoes were still boiling hot, and it went over my hands,'' she said.
``[The store] had a thing with the chemist, which is in the same place as it is today, and they would send us over and they would decide whether we needed to go to the doctors or not.''
But despite the burn being ``as red as anything'' they just put cream on it and sent her back to work.
She said her favourite things about the store were the friendships and the dinners, and it was those things she missed most.
``It's strange walking past now,'' she said. ``I can still see how the shop was set out, it was just long counters up the middle where the girls used to stand, and on either side would be the goods.
``Down the back was where they had the clothing and shoes and near the stairs there was a fish and chip shop and cakes and lollies.
``I wish they left it how it was.''
![Former Coles employee Derris Stevens, of Kings Meadows, outside the old Coles building in Charles Street. Picture: GEOFF ROBSON Former Coles employee Derris Stevens, of Kings Meadows, outside the old Coles building in Charles Street. Picture: GEOFF ROBSON](/images/transform/v1/resize/frm/storypad-y3u99ku9HFD9CAqqXYPegk/96ef6783-81cc-4b1e-93aa-b96e54806b21.jpg/w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)