Nervous start to dream career

Samtaluar couldn’t predict the world would turn on its head when he signed the contract to his dream career venture.

But, when he arrived at his popular Feilding cafe on Monday, his first day as a business owner was not as he planned.

Customers could not walk through the doors and were instead waiting for their caffeine fix on the street.

There were new procedures for ordering, retrieving orders and paying.

Taluar said he had heard good things about Cafe Piccolo’s on Goodbehere St since moving to Feilding three years ago.

So when the previous owner decided to bow out of hospitality in January, he eagerly snapped up the cozy cafe.

However, he didn’t anticipate the takeover would be in the middle of a pandemic.

The cafe’s previous owner, Nikki Brown, applied for the Government’s wage subsidy, which helped Taluar retain the staff of four.

‘‘We were looking at restaurants and cafes, and this was the best opportunity we ever had,’’ he said.

‘‘We didn’t know there would be a lockdown and we had already signed [the contract].’’

The cafe went on the market in November and it instantly piqued his interest. By the time he viewed it in January, it was a done deal.

‘‘We were concerned about level 4 being extended, but now that is gone I’m not too worried.’’

Taluar, who has never worked in a cafe, said his staff would ensure Piccolo’s remained the same for its customers.

He hoped the cafe’s strong reputation and loyal customer base would hold it in good stead over the coming months.

‘‘If the quality is high, customers will keep coming back.’’

Taluar was also throwing his support behind ‘‘buy local’’ campaigns, encouraging those in the provinces to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign has helped sustain another new business in a neighbouring town.

Ginger Bird owner Alice Little was nervous her Colyton cafe wouldn’t survive the lockdown after buying it in February.

However, the cafe reopened to droves of customers, some from as far as Palmerston North, when doors reopened during alert level 3.

‘‘The wage subsidy was lovely — that honestly kept me afloat,’’ Little said.

‘‘There’s been so much local support and, if I didn’t have that, it would have been a different story.’’

DAVID UNWIN/STUFF Sam Taluar is the new owner at Cafe Piccolo’s in Feilding. When he signed the contract he had no idea a pandemic was about to strike.

DAVID UNWIN/STUFF Alice Little bought the Ginger Bird Cafe, in Colyton, in February. She’s had strong turnover since level 4 ended.