Covid-19: Butchers frustrated by forced closures, as doughnut deliveries continue

Thursday, 19 August 2021

Big Apple butcher Sam Hunter has been left with meat that had been destined for restaurants.

More than a year on from the first Level 4 lockdown, the rules around essential groceries still seem murky. Butchers and fishmongers can’t open their shop doors, but dairies can and people can get wine, chocolate and doughnuts delivered to the door.

While at Level 4 supermarkets can operate with shoppers in store buying meat and vegetables, those same customers cannot walk into a green grocer or butcher without breaking the law.

For those small, specialist businesses not set up for delivery, this means trading ceased at midnight on Tuesday.

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Two butchers said they had gone into survival mode.

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During the 2020 Level 4 lockdown, Greytown Butchery Big Apple owner Sam Hunter dumped poultry and was frantic to get rid of meat he was not able to sell without being in contact with customers.

Christchurch's Top in Town restaurant was burgled last week with $2000 in cash stolen. Now the restaurant is hit with a double whammy due to the latest Covid-19 lockdown.

The butcher had bought the meat based on restaurant orders but was then stuck with it.

This time, Hunter was again left with plenty of poultry and beef ordered by Wairarapa restaurants and cafés, which had to cancel.

He is currently chopping up and mincing chickens into products that he can deliver. But he is frustrated that a lot of it will still go into the bin. He says it really seems unfair this time around that even with compulsory mask-wearing, he is forbidden to open.

“Nothing seems to have moved on from last year, and it is disappointing to be in this situation as a small business again,” Hunter said.

“I’m sure if I did open the police would shut me down, yet a dairy can open. We can operate a ‘one in one out’ set up, but I feel are unfairly banned from doing so,” he said.

Butcher Phil Austin at his new NaeNae Meats butchery with Grant Joyce behind.

If he personally drives around delivering all his stock by Friday night, it will be too late to restock for opening on Monday if the level changes.

He also says the time it takes to organise orders is time he could use to stop other stock going off.

“We want to know sooner than after business hours tomorrow what the plan is for Wairarapa, so we can manage our business,” Hunter said.

He is working frantically to break even, but says there will be no profit for the week.

NaeNae Meats’ Phillip Austin and his partner Julie opened their butchery on August 12 and a week later had to shut down. Austin had $30,000 of meat ready to sell when the lockdown was announced.

“We opened until 10pm the night of lockdown and had lines of people out the door wanting to support us,” Austin said.

Owner of DOE, Shenine Dube left, and Grace Tauber .

“We wanted to care for our community with mahi aroha, our love for them,” his partner said.

NaeNae Meats is taking orders by phone and delivering them just to keep afloat. The business owners say they just can’t afford to lose the investment they have just put in while the supermarkets take the extra trade.

“It is challenging, but we are up for it,” Austin said.

The definition of what essential items are seems to be rather elastic as this time boutique wine distributors and doughnut and confectionery gift box operators are busy taking online orders.

But Grey Lynn DOE doughnut company decided not to operate because the owners did not believe putting a worker at risk to deliver their delicacy doughnuts was fair.

“It is not right to risk workers' health and safety so that someone can have these luxuries,” Dube said.

“There are businesses way worse off than us and if they have to close then we should too as our bakery and delivery service is not essential food,” she said.

But online order gift box company Celebration Box whose owners also operate a boutique grocery store in Karaka, Paddock to Pantry, is operating. The orders are coming in thick and fast with their doughnuts, chocolates and chip supplies in demand.

Owner Wayne Kennerley decided to continue with the online gift box business because it was contactless. He said supermarkets could sell chocolate and wine and chips, so why shouldn’t he?

“This is what people want this time around, and we have the staff and capacity to deliver it,” Kennerley said.

“I have been in contact with the Ministry of Heath and the Ministry of Business and Innovation, and we are not breaking rules,” he said.

“The fact is there is no shortage of demand for these gift boxes full of goodies, and we are working very hard to keep the businesses going.

“Actually some of our customer feedback is that the stress relief from having the special deliveries has been a way to manage children at home.”

Kennerley said he felt there was added stress and worry this time with the aggressive Delta strain, and people in Auckland were particularly feeling it.