Social Distancing COVID-19 ♥

Taranaki Daily News

Cafe owner finds online fame with funny ‘contactless delivery’ video…

Thank you so much, you brightened the day!  Am Stratford born now living in Mangonui far north. With a group of friends attend WOMAD each year to get my Naki fix, we will be visiting your cafe next year for sure!
Keep sharing the joy you wonderful generous folk. Stay safe
Cheers Helen

A Taranaki cafe owner’s cup and cutlery tossing take on table service under alert level 3 has propelled her to online stardom.

In the viral video, posted on Oakura cafe Lemonwood Eatery’s Facebook page, Barbara Olsen-Henderson, wearing a home-made surgical mask, stands at a safe distance and tosses a tray of items at mannequins at a table. 

“Most people have found it highly amusing. It amuses me still, just chucking those things, especially the cutlery, it was like a real Fawlty Towers moment,” she said.

“There have been something like 84,000 views and it has reached a gazillion people; I couldn’t believe it. I was thrilled when we got to 1000, every time I look there’s a few thousand more.”

The idea came from seeing a similar Dutch video, and a conversation during a Zoom meeting with some other Taranaki restaurateurs.

“We were just talking about how you could do contactless deliveries, and someone said you would have to serve burgers, something with a round shape so you could throw it, then I saw the video and thought, we could do that,” she said.

“I had to talk my husband into standing there with the phone, but once he saw it, he thought it was really funny.”

Olsen-Henderson is feeling upbeat despite the prospect of being closed for at least another three weeks. She said it would not be viable to reopen the cafe under level 3 restrictions, although she will be delivering cafe-baked bread, and donating the money from it to Hospice.

“I’m totally grateful for the Government wage subsidy, we can all exist on 80 per cent of our wages and we have nowhere to spend the money anyway.”

The lockdown has also given her time to think and plan.

“I actually feel excited about how we spring out of this, refine and expand our business and I expect to be even more popular than ever,” she said.

“That’s why I did that video to make people laugh and look forward with hope rather than to express a negative emotion that I’m not feeling.”