The Waiting Game

It doesn’t seem right that we’re sitting here ready to go, the building relatively undamaged and yet we’re unable to do anything. We have been allowed fleeting visits but only to retrieve items from within the restricted zone, definitely not to use our equipment, and most definitely not to restart operations.

At the same time we do have to count ourselves very lucky.

There are buildings and structures not far from where we stand that either haven’t survived or won’t be allowed to. There are businesses that have lost even more than just their building – records, files, equipment and more importantly staff, friends, family and loved ones. There are businesses that will never re-open.  Our thoughts and wishes go out to all of those affected by this tragedy.

A structural engineer who checked out Black Betty this week marvelled at how well she had ridden the upheaval. Apparently buildings very similar to our own had not fared nearly as well. There was talk of walls having been blown out and roofs collapsing causing mass destruction and injury.

We are also lucky that we still have our sister shop out in New Brighton (also relatively undamaged) where we are able to continue running business from.  We have a loyal following of customers that rushed in the doors as soon as power was restored there and the coffee machine was up and running.

We have been flooded with support from other roasters, members too of the NZ Coffee Roasters Association offering help in any way they can. Our wholesale suppliers too have been willing to offer support.

Several of the cafes we supply coffee to have survived and are currently operational, bringing urgently needed caffeine to the masses. Their continual operation helps us to know we have a very definite future here and makes us want all the more to get Betty open and pick up where we left off.

Until further notice we do not know when Black Betty will be able to open again. It could be a few days, it could be weeks. There’s even been talk of months. All we know is we will open again and we will be ready to tackle head-on whatever challenges stand before us, and we also know our friends, family and supporters will be there standing beside us every step of the way.