The Phillip grocer bringing a taste of home to Canberra’s multicultural communities

Posted on 21 July, 2026

Tashi-Tinda was never intended to be just another grocery store.

When owner Namgay Thinley opened the Phillip store in September 2024, he wanted it to be so much more – a place where people could walk through the door and feel like they’d found a piece of home.

“As a Bhutanese Australian, I watched many people in my community travel long distances or pay nearly three times the price for everyday groceries from home because there were so few options available in Canberra,” he explains.

“I kept asking myself, ‘Why should something that reminds you of home be a luxury?’”

Namgay has long devoted himself to the local community. Moving to Canberra in 2014, his career has always involved people – from working in hospitality (including at Brew & Brew café) to driving buses for Transport Canberra.

But when his daughter was born, he realised that things needed to change.

Wanting to devote as much time to her as possible, he and his wife began dreaming of creating a place that could bring people – and cultures – together under one roof.

“My wife is Filipino, and through her family I saw a different challenge,” says Namgay.

“There are other Filipino stores, but they’re only open on market days. So many people – if they want something like a simple sauce – have to wait until the weekend. We wanted to create a store with trading hours that fit around people’s lives, not the other way around.”

Tashi-Tinda is open from 10 am until 9 pm during the week and stocks the staples and snacks that make up Bhutanese and Filipino diets. But with the goal of becoming the most welcoming grocery store in Canberra, it also stocks products from Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, India, Nepal, and many other Asian countries.

For Namgay and his wife, the expansion was an easy decision.

“When I see people walk in the door, I don’t want to see them leave disappointed,” he explains.

“For many people, food is more than a meal. It carries memories, traditions, and a sense of belonging. We want authentic products to be affordable, accessible, and easy to find. More importantly, we want people to walk in and find the ingredients that remind them of home.”

Ranging from dried herbs and spices to fresh vegetables, frozen meals and popular snacks, the products are imported straight from the various countries. But it’s the little touches in the store that make it feel like a sanctuary for so many of the Asian community.

As well as allowing them to buy the fresh produce and pantry staples without having to pay a premium, incense is often burning, and customers are welcome to help themselves to a free cup of spiced chai tea.

Namgay says that it’s this touch of home that many of his regulars love.

“I’ve always been a people person. I don’t mind talking to people, making them a coffee or tea or having a chat. I have a few chairs out the front and people come to sit and talk to me.”

“In Bhutan and the Philippines, you go to a shop, and you become friends.”

This friendship extends far beyond giving people a taste of home. Passionate about supporting the small community, there have also been many times that Namgay and his wife have donated a percentage of sales to those in need.

“We’ll take 10 or 15 per cent from sales,” he explains. “I’ll charge the normal amount, but at the end of the day, I’ll take 15 per cent and donate it directly to a customer’s hospital bill or whatever expense they are struggling with. In the last eight months, we’ve done four or five donations like that.”

“We just want to give back to the community. We want to be out there, helping.”

Opening Tashi-Tinda hasn’t been without its challenges.

The couple often works late into the night to order stock, as well as fighting an ongoing battle to get the herbs and spices through customs – all while raising two young children. But Namgay says they wouldn’t have it any other way.

In fact, he says that moving to Canberra – and the journey since – was meant to be.

“We came down [from Sydney] for a New Year’s party and then on the first of January, we drove around, and I didn’t want to go back. Canberra is a carbon copy of home,” he explains.

But home isn’t always a place.

Sometimes it’s the smell of a familiar spice, or the taste of a favourite childhood snack. That’s why Namgay believes Tashi-Tinda is fulfilling a much deeper purpose.

“Everyone deserves easy access to the foods that connect them to home,” he says.

“We don’t want to be a big giant store – we want to close the gap between home and here.”