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The past year has seen a raft of closures for both businesses.
Two popular Ōrewa businesses are facing yet more uncertainty as they are once again forced to close as a result of a major fire in the roof above their shops last October.
Ōrewa Bakery and The Biltong & Braai Shop, at 8 Moana Avenue, shut their doors to customers on July 18 and will not be able to reopen until extensive structural repairs have been completed – which is unlikely to be until late November.
The latest closure comes exactly a year after Biltong & Braai first opened to sell hand-made sausages, meats and South African barbecue goods. However, just as owner Conrad Muller and manager Semona Cornelesen were getting established, they and their neighbours, bakers Ty and Anna Lim, were hit with a two-week Covid lockdown, followed by the devastating roof fire on October 20 that closed them again until the end of January.
While the traders always knew that more extensive repairs and building works were inevitable, the latest closure is still a huge blow to both businesses.
Bakery owner Ty Lim says he will try to stay in business and reopen the award-winning shop, but he can’t be certain at present.
“I try to ask them to do the job quicker, and they say they will try, but we just have to wait,” he says. “It’s very difficult, we just keep watching.”
Ty is currently looking for bakery work, but is struggling to find a job. He says people are reluctant to take him on in a non-permanent role.
“I’ve got to get a temporary job, but people want a full-time, long-term baker,” he says.
He adds that for now, he and Anna are spending more time with their son and having a bit of a break.
Biltong & Braai can at least continue trading while the shop is closed, after setting up an online shopping website.
“We’re still making sausages at a commercial kitchen in Silverdale and we have our website, we just don’t have a shop front,” Semona says. “It’s very worrying. Everything was getting back to normal after the fire, and now it’s terrible.”
However, she and Conrad are refusing to give up, despite the rollercoaster of openings and closures ,and all the costs that entails.
“Our insurance said they can’t pay out twice on the same claim, and it costs money to get up and running again,” she says. “But we will be back. We can’t go through everything and not come back. All our customers have said they will support us.”
Biltong & Braai products can be bought online at www.thebiltongandbraaishop.co.nz
