'Utter madness' for local takeaways reopening

Last night was “utter madness” for takeaway spots in Nelson reopening their doors for the first time since lockdown began.

Restaurants across the country were finally able to feed hungry and eager customers after a two-week lockdown at Level 4.

Burger Culture chef and part-owner Chris Williams described last night's rush as “madness, complete and utter madness”.

The Burger Culture crew were able to get over 200 takeaways orders out the door on Wednesday.

“It was really fun, hard and challenging but fun. Hopefully, this carries on for the rest of Level 3 and we can get back to feeding customers in-store soon,” he says.

He says customers appeared to be following Level 3 pick up rules well by scanning in and showing up with masks.

“The team here are working really hard to keep the food at a good level. Patience would be welcomed as it is such a busy time,” he says.

Meanwhile, Little India Nelson owner and operator Mani Rai says they got between 150 to 200 takeaways out the door. He says a usual Wednesday would see about 25 to 35 takeaways ordered.

“We ran out of everything. Chicken sold out, lamb sold out, vegetables and fish sold out so everything will be fresh for today," he says.

He says it was great to be back working again.

“It was fantastic, people were craving the taste of curry. It was busy and the team were under pressure but we’re really happy,” he says.

Mani had the whole family on board to make sure orders kept flying out the door.
His 12-year-old son Armaan was manning the desk set up at the front entrance, making sure hungry customers got their curries.

“He asked if he could come help and he did really well, a few customers even gave him a tip,” says Mani.

Despite it being a chilly night on Wednesday, Mani says customers complied well with masks and waiting for their orders.

New owners at Victory Square Fish and Chips says the rush was "not so bad" compared to normal hours.

Owner Mon Pradham says because they haven’t been running the place for at least six months before lockdown, they are only eligible for the wage subsidy scheme and not the resurgence support scheme that could help cover rent, power and other ongoing costs.

“This is our first lockdown. It’s really hard to survive. We’re thankful for our customer's support but it’s been very tough and we’ve had to borrow money,” he says.

Mon is hopeful business will pick up even more as we lead up to the weekend rush.

“Normally Friday is very busy so we’re hopeful,” he says.

Arden Bar & Kitchen co-owner Logan Ursell says he was thankful to be opening the kitchen doors again with a limited menu of take home meals and wine.

"It's been a confusing time and financially stressful but it's great to see the team again. We got to have a beer in the courtyard out back all together before we opened," he says.

Local businesses are asking the community to stick to the Ministry of Health guidelines for ordering and picking up takeaways.

These rules include ordering online or over the phone, wearing masks, contact tracing, use a contactless payment method, keeping a two-metre distance and sending one person from your bubble to pick up orders.