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Perth fishmongers and butchers are reporting booming sales as West Australians flock to the shops to stock up on fresh food for Christmas Day.
While retail sales in WA over the Christmas period are expected to drop 0.5 per cent compared to last year, specialist food shops visited by the ABC on Christmas Eve were very popular.
Northbridge butcher David Torre said business had been booming for the entire week and this morning he and his staff had been flat out from the time that his shop opened at 4:00am.
"It's been one of the busiest Christmases I can remember, and people have been in good spirits, so it's been a lot of fun," he said.
"I think it's been our best ever, and I think the city has been very busy and I think the city is evolving.
"It's a great place to be now, there's lots of people living in town and we've noticed a big difference, so it's been great."
Mr Torre said his staff had been working almost around the clock.
"We finished late last night, we got home around 10pm, had a quick shower, rolled out of bed and came back," he said.
He said while traditional Christmas items such as hams continued to sell well, customers had been willing to experiment with other meats too.
"A lot of new things are coming in — the smoking of ribs, the tomahawk [steaks], lamb's been selling very well," Mr Torre said.
Queues stretched out of the door at Kailis Bros seafood store in Leederville this morning, although most people seemed happy to wait.
Customer Leigh Thornton said he wanted to get the freshest seafood available.
"[I'm] just waiting for the oysters, like everyone else in here. You gotta get it [seafood] fresh, last day," Mr Thornton said.
"[We're having] seafood tomorrow, load up on the seafood — a big family day. Oysters, a bit of fish, abalone, salmon, prawns."
Geoffrey Wood said he was shopping for prawns, which he planned to serve with garlic and chilli.
"It's a lot busier than I've ever seen it before," he said.
Marl Dixon was shopping for prawns and said she was planning a "low-key, family Christmas" including lunch by the pool.
She said she had finished her Christmas shopping.
"I'm done, off to have a quiet afternoon and coffee," she said.
Topics: retail, lifestyle-and-leisure, community-and-society, christianity, perth-6000, wa