Waimate cafe owner diversifies to combat challenges of Covid-19

Bejon Haswell/StuffNicky Glenjarman with some items for sale in her Queen’s Lodge Artefacts Cafe in Waimate.A weird, wonderful and quirky curio, museum shop has emerged inside a Waimate cafe which was lashed by the Covid-19 economic downturn. Queen’s Lodge cafe owners Nicky and Shayne Glenjarman said they had to think outside the square after losing 98 per cent of their customer base, which was largely made up of tourists, due to the pandemic.  Now, alongside their cafe offering, the Glenjarmans have added an intriguing collection of personal and locally acquired offerings to their business. “We have adapted. We had to pivot as hard as possible,” Nicky said.Bejon Haswell/StuffWaimate Queen’s Lodge Artefacts Cafe co-owner Nicky Glenjarman said they had adapted their business following the Covid-19 outbreak. The couple have travelled widely and have many of their mementos from their trips on display, or for sale. From strange items such as stuffed bats and fish to even stranger items such as dinosaur poo from Morocco, a steam punk scorpion, snake skeletons and bags made from Australian cane toads – the cafe and store is not for the faint-hearted.  About 99 per cent of the products, which include brightly coloured woolly tea cosies, ostrich egg doll bassinets, hand-made steampunk dolls and dungeon jewellery are made in Canterbury or the Waimate region, she said. Nicky’s personal collection of preserved water creatures such as star fish and sea urchin is also on display.Bejon Haswell/StuffNicky and Shayne Glenjarman have added a curio, museum shop and nursery to their Waimate cafe, accommodation and conference room business. They also offer accommodation and have space for conferences. They were living in Rangiora during the Canterbury earthquakes and worked in the Rescue and Technical Support Team (RATS), part of the Civil Defence Emergency Management group.  The couple worked for five weeks behind the cordon to save victims stuck in the collapsed buildings.  Shayne worked on the Transitional Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch before they moved to Waimate and purchased the former Criterion Hotel in February 2019.  “We fell in love with the building and the township,” Nicky said. The cafe is open from 10am to 3.30pm Wednesday to Sunday and the shop on request outside hours.Bejon Haswell/StuffHandmade steam punk dolls at the Queens Lodge Artefacts Cafe in Waimate.Stuff
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