A couple of Sazio specials for you: no, not the tortellini, but restaurant owners Laura and Daniel. They are pretty pleased with being recognised for excellence by their peers in the NZME Hastings City Celebration Awards 2021, held last night at Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre.
Their achievement is impressive given the difficulties faced by most small businesses in the last year or so, but especially so for hospitality. Opening in January 2020 just six weeks before the first Covid-19 lockdown, this award recognises their creativity, hard work and perseverance.
Hastings HIVE was proud to sponsor this award on the night, but Laura and Daniel were unable to attend in person as they, like many small business owners, work very much in the business and Thursday nights are busy. Your editor was able to catch up to ask a few questions.
Laura says, "Winning this award was such a surprise for Dan and I. We really didn't expect to win, but it is very special as we are so passionate about our restaurant, about feeding people great food and delighting our customers. The last two years has been very tough with lock-downs and with customers being naturally cautious."
Asked about their business outlook, Laura says, "We have been lucky being here in the Hawke's Bay. Others have had it much harder but some days are definitely quieter than others. It's hard to compare as we only have last year as a measure but we hope people can soon enjoy dining out again with more freedom as summer comes on."
At Hastings HIVE we have a marvellous mix of organisations with regional branch offices of large corporates, small businesses, not-for-profit organisations and sole traders.
Rob Gill, managing director of Hastings HIVE, says, "Our purpose is to provide a high-tech, shared office environment incorporating beautiful design to support small businesses, with the lowest standard rates for coworking desks and serviced offices in the Hawke's Bay and possibly NZ. But our passion is to support new businesses and start-ups to be nurtured here in the HIVE."
So sponsoring this award was the perfect fit for us and, having had the pleasure of dining out at Sazio, we can't think of more fitting winners. If you run a small or start-up business, contact us here at Hastings HIVE to see how we can help.
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