19/04/2026
Big News! Big Announcement 📣
💚We are closed & it’s not temporarily we are leaving Ōpawa,Ōpawaho,Waimōkihi
💚It’s been expensive to be here & not a cent more we didn’t renew our lease we did try & sell a cafe set up & interested buyers said the lease was too expensive for them 🤷🏻♀️
💚We weren’t going to put our prices up,we never operated with a surcharge @ all!
💚We will be available for catering just message on here or contact me or email
💚Businesses that were in here under our umbrella I want to ensure you your product is packed & safe at the minute & I’ll be in touch soon to arrange delivery or collection & thank you 🙏🏽 for taking the risk in our shop
Khylos Kawakawa Boutique
Mako Design
Maria Godinet-Watts A-nanny that Knits 🧶
Tamara Nolan Pure Aromatherapy
🌿Tāku Aroha Creations 🌿
Marlene Bennetts Nz Author of The Giraffe with no patches
The Lyttel Kiwi
Rei Poppy Smic
💚I also want to remind everyone of our volunteers in the beginning
Jamie McQueen our head Barista & Tutor
Rebel Our amazing front of house Star 🌟
Suzi
Billy my amazing 🤩 man of nearly 22 years we survived a cafe together!
Poppy!
TANE & Aka Twin Harmony
Maddy Moo
Shady, Tare
SJ
Arnie & Rangi
💚We want to mihi to all our supporters who stuck in here with us you matter!
💚Our community you have been more than amazing engaging participants of all things the wonderful people we have met the networks relationships you all matter to us
💚Champions of the Reo all who came & gave your Reo a go! Just beautifully amazing to us! Kia Kaha & Karawhuia! Keep going! Keep trying! don’t stop on those journeys
💚we never came from a cafe space we definitely supported a lot with the navigation mahi we do Tua Whakarere Whānau Ora Consultancy
💚If we were closed it was for the mahi we do in behind the scenes Whānau Ora Navigation for Mental Health Addiction Disibility this looks like,..support for Rangatahi youth Whānau family Kaumātua elderly no one left behind & not just for māori
Advocacy -HnZ,Winz,ACC,GP,Hospitals, Residentials,Oranga Tamariki, Criminal court,Youth Court,Family Court,High Court cases
Su***de -Prevention & Aftercare
Tangi (Funeral) support -Tikanga & Kawa setting,Arrangements -kai
Addiction support
Sexual abuse & Domestic violence
TANE Ora
WĀHINE Ora
Rangatahi Ora
Kaumātua Ora
I sit on boards as a Manawhenua Ngāi Tahu & Rāpaki representative also at governance level -establishment member for The Ministry of disibility Whānau Ora & Te Tiriti
💚There were times the cafe was closed because of this mahi or catering thank you for understanding & supporting what we did & do
💚We have also had a lot of tangi to begin this year & wish to thank you for all your support
💚My Māmā has been a sick lady also many operations later & still healing ❤️🩹 74 years young
💚what will we be doing? We will Pause for a rest reset to refocus after 3 hard years in business we know what we are doing & want to improve some things so have a few tasks to work on like our websites for here & Rongoā purchasing etc
💚We will work on purchasing a food truck so we can attend all the events we get invited too yes mobile coffee & Kai!!!
💚We will continue catering our home kitchen is registered
💚We are thinking about pop up cafe events too
💚We will be bringing out merch keep following our page
💚We will make The Kawakawa Cafe beans available for purchasing
💚I will be photo dumping here,lives & cooking
💚I’m also going to be working on a cookbook for sale let me know what you would like to see in it?
💚Then there’s this news Billy has scored contract mahi working inside & outside the wire with our TANE Men doing what he’s really good at!
💚My news is I’m off to do some work for Community Law Canterbury!!! I’ll do some updates on our other page about our mahi Kaitiaki Tua Whakarere Whānau ora Consultancy so come give us a follow over there & see what we get up too
💚I will still post here re catering cooking lives etc so don’t go away if there’s something you want to see me make on here just hollah
💚Cafe mahi work is relentless tiring exhausting 7days a week no days off now couple that with all we do lol we work hard are hard workers & deserve our weekends back!
💚Check my listings on fb market we have been selling furniture this Loungesuite is up for sale today is moving out day so we can’t be held up aroha Mai
💚support small businesses they aren’t rich they are just getting by paying the bills broke because they pay staff etc Billy & I didn’t take a wage we just paid the bills!
💚Poho kererū we are so so proud we achieved a māori cafe a business project that was so much more yes that’s right we got our diplomas in business & project management & this was our project!!
Not bad for a pā kid who was allowed to cook & bake from a young age my nana was a baker the church baker the morning tea kitchen at church the fundraiser my Tāua was a caterer & fundraiser then there’s Kai at the marae teatoweltanga I have plenty of that!! & we have loved every minute from start to finish & everything in between!!! Thanks to all who came did teatoweltanga here x
💚Message for Helen if you see this I will be in touch by email
💚Just remember The Ōpawa Cafe is still there & the only way a cafe survives is if you go there & purchase big or small
💚big mihi to all our groups who regularly booked
💚Stay kind with aroha it’s the only way
💚The Kawakawa Cafe @ the heart of our community will soon be The Kawakawa Cafe Catering Co & Then soon to be The Kawakawa Cafe on tour in a food truck. Then we can be everywhere!
💚Arohanui Waikura & Billy 💚✨
💚Don’t forget to vote 🗳️ in a new government this one has been a s**t 💩 show!
💚P.S if you weren’t a frybread lover I know you all are now! 😂🫶🏼
💚Mothers day or Harī rā māmā will be our next gig hold tight to see what we come up with!
