Fale de Keke cake store owner Lynne Vatau says despite numerous break-ins, they are determined to remain open. Photo / Supplied
Fale de Keke cake store owner Lynne Vatau says despite numerous break-ins, they are determined to remain open. Photo / Supplied
The first time their cake store was broken into, there was shock and fear.
By the fourth break-in, it was business as usual for staff at Fale de Keke in Takanini, South Auckland.
“Honestly, it’s sad to have to say this. But we’ve become numb to it because of how often it’s been happening,” store owner Lynne Vatau says.
“When my sister woke me up this [last incident], it was just like: ‘Okay’. No big reaction anymore. It was just like: ‘Let’s get down there and clean up what they’ve done.”
The cake store was one of several businesses in the same block of shops on Great South Rd, Takanini, hit by thieves in the early hours of last Sunday.
Police were called to the scene as staff from various businesses - including a newly opened Indian restaurant and the Domino’s Pizza shop next-door - started to arrive to clean up the shattered glass and debris left behind.
Vatau says they are not the only store to be hit numerous times and on some occasions, those who got what she described as “the dreaded call” had become so used to it, they did not report incidents to police.
The aftermath of yet another break-in at the Fale de Keke store in Takanini, South Auckland. Photo / Lynne Vatau
“We know from the many different CCTV cameras that we roll back and even our own break-ins, it always happens early hours of the morning.”
In the latest incident, the store’s cameras had not been charged ahead of the weekend, so there was no security video captured.
But CCTV footage from previous break-ins showed the offenders were always young, she says.
“They would just post the videos on TikTok. It was like an entertaining thing with those little edits that they do.
“Our neighbour found it and (the video) was inside his shop. They had just done it and posted it on TikTok - of them breaking in and jumping over the counter.”
Staff at Fale de Keke clean up the mess left behind after another break-in at their store in Takanini, South Auckland. Photo / Lynne Vatau
Vatau said the target is always the till and cash.
Staff used to leave the cash float in the till - until the first break-in happened. Now no cash is left at the store and the till’s empty draw is placed on the bench to show there is nothing in there.
“But they rip it out anyway,” Vatau says.
“It’s an inconvenience for us - we’re having to replace the till, replacing the Eftpos stuff if they’ve dropped it and broken it. The next business day, we’re having to sort those things out for opening again.
“They’re not cheap, especially when you’re replacing it constantly.”
Passion, purpose and a drive to help family
No one has ever been charged for any of the four incidents, Vatau says, and she acknowledges this kind of thing is enough for any small business owner to give up.
But that is not an option for her, as this is now a family business she and those involved - including her sisters, nieces, brothers and even their mother - are a part of.
In 2019, she was in her final semester of a post-graduate diploma in secondary teaching when she decided to leave her studies and pursue her fast-growing cake business.
The then university student had taken up baking cakes and sweet treats a few years earlier as a hobby and started posting her creations on social media. Family and friends started to put in requests for custom orders - and then members of the public started to as well.
These days, Fale de Keke is one of the most well-known cake businesses in the Pasefika community in Auckland; with their cakes and cupcakes regularly featuring at birthdays, weddings and community events.
Lynne Vatau is passionate about baking and helping others through her work. Photo / Supplied
They have between 250 to 300 customers come through their doors every week, with an average of between 50 to 60 people visiting every day turning up to buy their sweet treats in-store. On the weekends, it is busier.
Vatau says despite the break-ins, she is determined to keep going.
“It’s my faith because I fully believe that this place is my purpose. My dream is to grow it and use it to help others.
“My family are so strongly involved in everything with this. Everyone drops anything to help with this. We’ve never had something like this before. Those are my two motivating factors of why I can’t give up on this.”
