Maree Allely will run the kitchen, teaching volunteers cooking, baking, food preparation, barista skills, customer service, front of house, food and hygiene - "the whole lot", she said.
Volunteer Rotorua, a central hub for those who give their time to community and non-profit organisations, was launched in January.
It is based at Work and Income three days a week, as beneficiaries who can do so are encouraged to volunteer.
The idea of running a business was something they'd been thinking about for a while, Mrs Allely said.
"We're giving people in the community an opportunity to upskill ... to raise their self-esteem and get work experience."
Mr Hollingsworth, a social services student who volunteers with Volunteer Rotorua, said the goal was to offer Work and Income clients and others a pathway to employment.
He said making money was not the priority, as long as the cafe can cover costs, they would be happy.
Meals have been kept simple and affordable, which Mr Hollingsworth said was bound to appeal to to the 3000 or so students next door. The cafe will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week and is in the process of obtaining a liquor license. Customers are likely to be mainly the 40 or so students who lived at the holiday park, other holiday park guests and Waiariki staff and students. They hope local residents will also check it out.
Mr Hollingsworth said outside catering and working with the holiday park to offer set meals for large groups of visitors was also being looked at.
Ultimately, they want to replicate the idea. "If this gets going and does well, I'd like to set up another one," Mrs Allely said.
Paul Wollaston, director finance and corporate services at Waiariki, said the institute had been looking for an external operator to get the cafe back up and running. It was a secondary activity for Waiariki as running a cafe was not part of its core business, Mr Wollaston said.
He said Waiariki already had a cafe on the main campus, so The Chirpy Cafe was "theoretically competition".
"[But] I would prefer that competition ... it means selection and choice."
Four students and two former beneficiaries have been employed part-time, including Aroha Sahota, who until this week had been on a benefit for two years.
The 26-year-old mum of two said with "no experience and no qualifications" she had found it hard to get work. To prevent boredom, she had been volunteering with Volunteer Rotorua and was delighted to be snapped up for the new cafe.
"It's exciting. Scary, but exciting," Mrs Sahota said.
She'd cooked for her kids and was "always in the kitchen" on the marae, but since working with Volunteer Rotorua she'd learned a lot, she said.
"Baking, making my own sauces, the difference between breads ... it's all thanks to them."
When asked what her goals were, Mrs Sahota shyly replied: "Run my own [cafe]."
