How Colin whips up a a serve of cold comfort
For the near half-century since Colin Haines opened the doors to Ollies on Valentine’s Day 1973, he has been behind the counter almost every day.
But the Omicron wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is keeping him away from the much-loved burger joint and icecream parlour on the corner of Royal Oak’s roundabout in Auckland.
For older hospitality owners like Haines and his wife, Carolyn – Haines declined to give his precise age, but based on earlier reporting he appears to be in his 80s – the pandemic not only brings fears for the safety of their business, but for themselves.
‘‘That’s the thing about being in the pandemic at our stage of life,’’ he explained. ‘‘We’re both older, and we don’t want to get Covid-19 if we can possibly avoid it. So I really try to avoid doing anything over the counter and having customer contact, which is a shame, because it has been a big part of what my time has been at Ollies.’’
Rather than scooping icecreams and talking with customers, Haines now briefly stops by the store each morning when it is empty and before the staff arrive.
‘‘I find it quite frustrating more than anything, because there’s always lots and lots to do. And there are certain jobs that you do yourself that nobody else really does anyway.’’
Haines’ charming hospitality is just as much a facet of Ollies as the icecream itself, and his rapport with generations of customers is something he built over decades.
In 1971 Haines and his wife returned home from a five-year stint in Canada, feeling inspired after experiencing the Americanstyle diners and novel fast food restaurants. Teeing up the return home with the arrival of Aotearoa’s first-ever KFC, Haines was able to snap up a role cooking in a fast food kitchen before embarking on his own venture – buying a drapery store in Royal Oak and turning it into Ollies two years later.
Haines said Ollies’ resilience was due to its vast, varied and staunchly loyal patrons. That, and its ability to weather financial storms. Even during ‘‘difficult times’’, like the pandemic, ‘‘a little treat is far easier than going out for a big dinner’’.
Although he’s saddened by not being able to front the customers, Haines said he was strangely grateful that alert level 4 gave him a chance to spruce the place up – ‘‘upgrading, painting, the works’’ – and tick some jobs off that have been on his list as long as the business has been running.
Fresh lick of paint or not, Haines said Ollies would never change – and that’s the reason behind its everlasting popularity. ‘‘Nothing has changed and we just love it. Because it’s just the same as a nice old pair of slippers or shoes, you can come here and slot in, and it’s comfortable, and it’s the same.’’