North Canterbury News: April 16, 2020

Customers show support
By SHELLEY TOPP
The ownersand staff at apopular
Rangiora cafe are feelingthe lovefrom
customersmissing them duringthe Covid­
19 lockdown.
‘‘Customers havebeen sending
messagesofsupport, buying vouchersand
generallytelling us how they can’twait to
come back in,’’ saysKarlHorwarth, who
owns FoolsofDesireCafe (F.O.D.) in
Conway Lane with fiance Elisa Leach.
‘‘That customer support makesahuge
difference for the team and makes us more
confident aboutour chances of opening
back up.’’
The last few daysbeforelockdown was a
‘‘crazy’’ timefor staffatthe cafe.
‘‘We holdthousands of dollars worthof
stock, and alot of it can’t be stored, frozen
or keptfor any lengthoftime,’’ Karl says.
‘‘So we put out acall to our amazing
customersand they were fantastic. People
were buying milk, trays of sweets, all our
frozen seafood chowder.Wealso had
friends and familyhelp us out by offering
to store and freeze things we didn’thave
room for.’’
Although the cafe is closed during
lockdown, the fridges and freezers have to
be checked daily to ensure everything is
safe.
‘‘It is very strangebeinginanempty
cafe,’’ Karl says. ‘‘Weare really looking
forward to reopeningwhenever that will
be. The wholeteam will tell you that they
really miss each other, the customersand
the buzz we normallyhave everyday at the
cafe.’’
The Government’s Covid­19 wage
subsidy schemehas been a‘‘lifesaver’’ for
the cafe.
‘‘We found it quick and easytoaccess
and received the grant within afew days of
applying,’’ Karlsays.‘‘Without it we would
have had to make staff redundant.’’
The F.O.D.team is keepingbusy during
lockdown doingtraining courses online in
food hygiene, alcohol management and
hospitality, while amentor is due to speak
Lockdown ... Elisa Leach, co­owner of Rangiora’s Fools of Desire Cafe, about to leave the
cafe after closing for the last time before the Covid­19 lockdown.
PHOTO:KARL HORWARTH
with staff during the nextfew weeks.
Head chefMelissa Dealy is working
online withher teamtodevelop new
kitchensystemsand menuitems.
In addition, the managementteam is in
regularcontact to discuss strategy and
ideas, Karlsays.
Customers wanting to purchase agift
vouchertosupport F.O.D., ‘‘or any of their
favourite cafes’’, can do so via the website
soscafe.nz, Karlsays.
F.O.D. giftvouchers can also be
purchased at foolsofdesire.co.nz.
‘‘Buyingagift voucher will allow us to
get ahead start once we open and giveus
some revenuetobuy stock. However, we
are aware that manypeopleare suffering,
so as much as we lovethe support we only
want peopletopurchase vouchersifthey
can afford it.’’
NEWS
North Canterbury News, April 16, 2020
Tips lead
to arrest
By ROBYN BRISTOW
5
An off­duty officer in Cheviot has taken a
wanted offender off the streets thanksto
tips from locals.
The officer, who was on his dayoff,
started receiving callsfrom locals who
saw the driver of ablack ute acting
suspiciously in the township.They had
information to suggest theute might have
been involved in recent local burglaries.
The officer found the vehicle, which
had been reported stolen, that evening
near the intersection of Nonoti and
Domett Roads,Cheviot.
The driverfailedtostop.
Apursuitbegan,and the vehiclewas
tracked out towards Gore Bay, where
contact waslost.
The vehicle was found10minutes later
having been abandonedonGore Bay
Road.Adog unit tracked the offender,
who was arrested.
A28­year­old man hasappearedin
Christchurch DistrictCourt on several
charges,including failing to stop, driving
whiledisqualified and dangerous
driving, as wellasdishonesty offences,
including burglary.
He is next due to appear on April20.
Canterbury RuralArea Commander,
Inspector Peter Cooper, commended the
localofficer, saying they had aspecial
relationship withtheir communities.
‘‘They’re usually well­known and
relied on, and we know theyoften go
aboveand beyond even on days off to
make sure their communityissafe and
feelssafe.
‘‘Butthat relationship goes two ways,
and we are truly appreciative of the local
people who saw something they knew
wasn’t right, and made sure they let us
know,’’ Inspector Coopersays.
‘‘Stories like this demonstrate the
powerofusall working together to hold
offenderstoaccount.’’
Help available for Kaikoura businesses
Ahelping hand is available to
businessesinthe Kaikouraarea
to help them through the next
few months.
Enterprise North Canterbury
(ENC) has contracted Mel
Skinner for 12 weeks as an
additional business support
resource in the Kaikoura region.
Her appointment was made
possible through the Regional
BusinessPartner (RBP) Covid­
19 Advisory Funding allocated
by the Government.
She will support Miles Dalton
and Guy Graham, of ENC,
working with Kaikoura
businesses to help identify key
areas wheresupport is needed
to enable an enhanced recovery
from the Covid­19 lockdown.
If Kaikoura businessesmeet
RBP criteria, eligiblefirms will
be able to access arange of
approved supportservicesin
the following areas:
Human resources: Challenges
with Covid­19­related employmentlaw
obligations around
restructuring, redundancyand
change of work hours.
Business continuity planning:
Support creating contingency
plans to help businessesget
through the nextfew months
and build team readiness.
Financeand cashflow
management: Adviceand
support around cashflow,
payrolland accounts.
Health and wellness:
Understanding how to deliver
positive messaging, stay
connected, and access
programmes.
To be considered for funding,
Kaikourabusinesses willneed
to have met with Mel, registered
on the RBP platform, and will
need criteria that include
having fewer than50full time
equivalent employees, be GSTregistered,
and beingprivately
ownedoraqualifyingMaori
trust. To learn more, email:
mel@enterprisenc.co.nz.
Mel Skinner
Send us your Home School photos!
TheNorth CanterburyNewsinvites readers
to send their favouritepic from their home
schooling.
Selected pics will be published in the NC News
and on our websitencnews.co.nz.
Please send ahigh resolution jpg by noon,
Monday, April 20 to robyn.bristow@ncnews.co.nz