A kind gesture from a young electrician and 15 bacon butties sparked a 'pay it forward' special at a struggling East Auckland café.
Earlier this week, customers at The Apothecary in Howick enjoyed a free breakfast butty - paid for in advance by Michael 'Beefy' McBeath, a local electrician whose business card was served with the tasty breakfast.
McBeath received three jobs that day.
Cafe owner Ted Waters said the kind gesture was met with such gratitude McBeath did it again - and other local businesses joined in.
It was McBeath's way of giving something nice to the cafe and community, and Waters was pleased he was able to get some jobs out of it.
McBeath said the boost to business was welcomed but unexpected. He said he just wanted to do something nice for the cafe since Waters supported his business when he could. He wanted to make people happy, and people emailed him saying the gesture had brightened their day.
photo credit: The Apothecary Licenced Eatery
The local Barfoot and Thompson office bought $500 worth of sandwiches, and today coffee and doughnuts are free - paid by AGB Stone and Award Carpets in Wellington.
What better day to have free coffee and doughnuts than International Coffee Day, said Waters.
The Apothecary set up a barbecue outside its shop to cook meat for the butties and went through 30kg of ham and 25kg of bacon each day.
The croissants or buns were filled with ham or bacon and topped with hollandaise, mayo, mustard or brown sauce.
The barbecue is bringing in customers, said Waters, and show them the cafe was trying to save its business.
A lot of hospitality owners aren't open at level 3, but they're giving it a go, he added.
The wage subsidy kept his staff employed during level 4, but the cafe was still operating at a loss, said Waters.
Level 3 alleviated some pressure, but revenue was still down with no alcohol sales, a reduced menu and COVID-19 protocols.
With music playing, it was some socially distanced fun, drawing people from their home offices and making friends with the dogs, he said.
