Cafe Hanoi owners Krishna Bottica and Tony George put in place multiple contingency plans to ensure staff didn't lose their jobs. Photo / Dean Purcell
Cafe Hanoi owners Krishna Bottica and Tony George put in place multiple contingency plans to ensure staff didn't lose their jobs. Photo / Dean Purcell
To give themselves cash flow and keep their restaurant businesses afloat and staff from losing their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, Krishna Botica and her husband Tony George put their house up for rent and moved into a relative's unfinished apartment to live.
The couple, who owns three Auckland eateries Cafe Hanoi, Saan and Xuxu Dumpling Bar, are among the nominees for the Restaurant Association's first Resilience Awards, or RaRa.
The pandemic has hit the hospitality industry hard, and the awards have been launched to recognise those who have gone above and beyond to keep their businesses going and staff employed.
Krishna said it has been "tough and tricky" maneuvering the Covid-19 crisis and believed that even though Auckland was back in level 1, the industry was "far from being out of the woods".
Cafe Hanoi owner Krishna Botica put her family home for rent to help their business stay afloat during the pandemic. Photo / Dean Purcell
"Looking forward, I am very nervous. Mainly because the last lockdown really knocked off any confidence we had before then. We don't have any direction from the government whether there will be any nuanced response to support businesses that have been ravaged," she said.
Krishna said she did not think they were deserving of being nominated for the award because "so many people have got it harder than us".
However, she said it was good and timely that the association has launched this award to highlight the steep challenges and "life-changing sacrifices" people in the industry had to make during the virus pandemic.
Owners of Cassia, Sid and Chand Sahrwawat worked relentless to ensure they can retain their entire team during the pandemic. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"I think people have to be very aware of the amount of mental stress that we have, even in the day-to-day running of the business in an industry which is essentially retail with a high turnover of product as well as a lot of staff to create that product," Krishna said.
"It's a high-pressure environment where the margins are relatively low. A lot of us do it only because we're really passionate about it."
The Restaurant Association said in a statement that Krishna and her husband put their house out for rent to stay in business and help keep their team employed.
Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois. Photo / Supplied
"They forward-planned, putting in place multiple contingency plans to help them stay afloat," it said.
"They have been a shining example in how to put customers' minds at rest and boosting consumer confidence in hospitality by putting a mandatory mask policy and random Covid-testing policy for their staff."
The association is currently seeking nominations from the industry for outstanding community spirit, outstanding innovation and outstanding local hospo hero for Auckland.
Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said the awards aimed to shine a light on the many that have "showed steely determination" during the pandemic.
Nick Honeyman of Paris Butter restaurant was one of the first to offer home meals during the pandemic. Photo / Doug Sherring
"We want to highlight the people and businesses that have stepped up as we've navigated our way through Covid-19," Bidois said.
"Over the year we've been overwhelmed by some of the stories we've heard - of people and businesses around the country with amazing community spirit; those who have innovated and changed; and those who have found silver linings in the most challenging of times."
She said the awards would recognise those who had gone above and beyond to keep people employed, help communities and keep their businesses alive while playing their part in stamping out the virus.
"Now more than ever we need to encourage and support our industry leaders during these challenging times," Bidois said.
Chef Sid Sahrawat sees his team as an extension of his own family. Photo / Dean Purcell
Other nominees also include Sid and Chand Sahrwawat, owners of Cassia, Sidart and Sid at the French Cafe, and Nick Honeyman of Paris Butter.
The association said the Sahrwawats worked relentless on their business to mitigate the financial impact and ensured they found a way to retain their 60 employees, keep staff mentally active with online courses and working with their teams to find ways to operate at alert level 3.
Honeyman was described to be one of the first to offer home meals during lockdown, and stated that he "got ride of his ego", got online and opened up takeaways taking 950 orders in the first week.
Another restaurant nominee, Peko Peko in Hobsonville, cooked all the food they had in stock and turned them into ready-made meals dropped off to those in need when the call came for Auckland to go into lockdown.
The association estimates up to 540 restaurants may have closed and more than 9300 staff have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
