Coronavirus: Supermarkets, petrol stations told to stop serving takeaway coffee

Thursday, 26 March 2020

Pak 'n Save New Plymouth owners Peter and Deb Melody says they are disapointed they can no longer serve coffee at their in-store cafe.

You can no longer get your barista-made coffee fix after petrol stations and in-store supermarket cafes were made to stop serving customers on Thursday.

Cafes, restaurants and bars were already prohibited from opening ahead of the move into country-wide lockdown at 11:59pm on Wednesday, which left very few options for those in need of a caffeine hit.

However, petrol stations and supermarkets are deemed essential services and owners were initially told they could continue to offer takeaway coffee services within their stores. But that has since changed.

Pak 'n Save New Plymouth owner Peter Melody said he was disappointed when told to close his in-store cafe Sticky Cafe and Hub on Thursday afternoon, after a complaint was made to the New Plymouth District Council.

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Z Energy petrol stations across the country have stopped serving coffee as well.

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After serving coffee earlier in the day, Melody said council staff had delivered him a notice with new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) guidelines requiring he shut up the cafe.

'It's not a money thing, it's actually providing something we thought was really good,' he said.

'From our point of view we were following guidelines that were put out for if you operate a cafe in a supermarket.'

The initial guidance included using only single-serve takeaway cups and making sure staff and customers were adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Wild Bean Cafes at BP petrol stations across New Zealand will also have to adjust to the new rules.

Melody said all seating had been removed from the cafe, markings indicating how far you needed to stand from each had been put down, hand sanitiser was available and operators were using gloves.

'Obviously it's changed.'

NPDC spokesperson Jacqueline Baker said they had received a complaint about the cafe operating.

'We received a public complaint about the supermarket cafe remaining open and serving coffee. We contacted relevant agencies. It's our understanding the cafe was asked to close,' she said.

Z Energy and BP petrol stations across the country were also selling coffees and cafe food on Thursday, until being notified of the new rules.

A Z Energy media spokesperson said on Thursday morning they were following MBIE guidelines, which allowed the sale of coffee from the store, but this had now changed.

They were no longer offering takeaway coffee or cafe food.

BP and MBIE have been approached for comment.