Cafe accused of ‘having it both ways’
A past Pie of the Year winning bakery has been accused of ‘‘having it both ways’’ by allowing dining on site, while opting out of the My Vaccine Pass system.
Multi-award winning The Clareville Bakery in Carterton has chosen not to require vaccine passes of its customers, but has upset some visitors by putting signs out encouraging dining in its ‘‘public picnic area’’.
A regular customer, John Adam of Carterton, was at the cafe yesterday and said it appeared to be as busy as normal with the garden area very busy.
‘‘I knew all the controversy about the Paekākāriki cafe and her not being allowed to have people on the street and thought ‘what the hell is going on?’.’’
Adam went into the cafe and was surprised to see staff members not wearing masks.
‘‘I think it is totally unfair on the other businesses trying to do the right thing by the community and their whānau. They’ve [Clareville Bakery] elected not to be part of the Covid passport, so there has to be some disadvantage, but when I called in yesterday it was if they were trading as they did a year ago.’’
The Government’s Covid-19 Protection Framework – the traffic light system – spells out that under orange hospitality businesses which do not require vaccine passes cannot let customers consume food on the premises.
Bakery owners Michael and Rose Kloeg said their outside dining area with tables was free for people to use after they had made their takeaway purchase.
‘‘There’s a grassy area that we’ve said if people want to sit there, they can, but it’s not managed,’’ Michael Kloeg said.
He said the spirit of the rules was about safety and their set-up was ‘‘very similar’’ to people eating outside in a park. ‘‘It’s like going to a fish and chip shop and eating your fish and chips at the park.’’
Kloeg said since they opted not to take up the My Vaccine Pass system, they had been ‘‘overwhelmed with support’’ from their customers. The Kloegs said they were willing to review the outdoor dining situation if it was not allowed.
A regular diner from Wellington, who often stopped on her way through Carterton on a Friday, said she thought it was unfair that the cafe was ‘‘trying to have it both ways’’.
Police and WorkSafe are the Government agencies charged with monitoring Covid-19 Protection Framework compliance.
WorkSafe spokesman Dylan Moran said they were aware of Clareville Bakery. ‘‘WorkSafe takes an ‘educate first’ approach when working with businesses to ensure they have a good understanding of their requirements. We’re aware some hospitality venues don’t know that when operating as takeaway-only food and drink can’t be consumed on their premises, including outdoor seating areas, and we look to help them understand and resolve this.’’