MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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An Oasis in ParadiseBy Julia Wade
A local venue, experienced in change and transformation, has once again been re-invented, with new management offering customers quality food within a laid back environment – a place to come and put your feet up. Oasis Bar and Eatery, on Molesworth Drive, offers a daytime menu with all food prepared fresh on the premises as well as Fair Trade and organic coffee. New manager, Lizzy Hutchin, owner of Mangawhai Heads popular ice cream store Dizzy Lizzy’s, was passionate about giving the restaurant a tranquil environment where customers can relax in the newly-extended outdoor dining area complete with long wooden benches, soothing water features and child friendly zone. “From the time I accepted the role, I had four weeks to turn it around and open by Easter… I was still working fulltime at Dizzy Lizzy’s and had no staff except one person,” she says. “So I made a few phone calls, employed local tradies and found some cooks who were willing to make food from scratch who spoke to my heart.” Customers are in good hands in the new cafe as Lizzy’s can-do attitude, management and organisational skills have been honed by years of retail experience, which began as a child while helping her Samoan mother run a food stall at Otara Markets. She has also worked in five star hotels in Auckland and England and, with the help of her husband, established a chain of top-label second hand shops, run a Hot Mini Donut Cart in a variety of locations and opened Dizzy Lizzy’s ice cream parlour in Silverdale, all while raising three children. “At the markets when you get up at 3am and you forget the till or roll of toilet paper, you were stuffed for the whole day, so you have to be organised,” she says. “My Mum was such a hard worker, she always said you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it… nothing fazed her… I guess I’ve sought of adopted that.” Finding a name to the new eatery took a week Lizzy says and came to her at 2.56am one morning. “I just woke up with it… It came about from when I was first shown the place, it reminded me of Mum, it was so tropical, so beautiful almost like I was coming back into Samoa, it’s full of memories. I really fell in love with it.” Oasis is the ideal name for the easy-going atmosphere Lizzy and her staff strive to offer at the already busy cafe, which has been warmly received by locals and visitors alike. “I want people to come in with their flip-flops and lava-lava and put their feet up on the cushions,” she says. “People work really hard, life is so fast and we don’t take enough time for ourselves. Take a step back, come in, enjoy a good coffee and scone and relax.” Staff with manager, Lizzy Hutchin (third from left). ‘Come on in, put your feet up, enjoy a good coffee and relax’ is the warm welcome from newly opened Oasis Cafe. |