15th Year Anniversary
Verne & Wendy
We are so proud to be celebrating our 15 year anniversary with Venre and Wendy of the The Coffee Club the Square in Palmerston North.
Take a look at a few fun stories and memories throughout their years below!
1. What made you want to start The Coffee Club business?
Verne and I had our own separate jobs, working in different locations and not seeing a lot of each other. Also, Verne’s previous job involved physical work so we were looking for a change of work and lifestyle as well as a new challenge. We were familiar with the quality of The Coffee Club brand having visited them in Australia. Although at that time The Coffee Club was relatively new in New Zealand, Brad and Andy were excellent to work with and we loved the location they had selected.
2. What is the most memorable experience through your years running The Coffee Club?
The recent addition of our Granddaughter to our team, as well as our daughter as Manager gives us three generations in the business. We realise that hospitality is a feeder industry for people in New Zealand, however we have a family-like environment, so seeing our team members come from school and develop into amazing adults and going on to pursue careers in their chosen fields is something amazing to see. We also love when they come back to their TCC family and share their stories.
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We have sponsored Netball in Manawatu for 12 years. Because of the excellent relationship we had developed within our community, we were asked by Netball New Zealand to speak with other regions at their National Conference about relationships between Business and Community which was a terrific experience.
3. What are the biggest challenges you have faced through the years?
We have certainly had our share of challenges. Three months after starting the business we hit the recession, newly in business, this was hard, but it was a great learning curve for us which helped going forward, although it did not feel like it at the time.Â
We lost half of our store floor area for six weeks while our building was being earthquake strengthened.
In January 2020 the PNCC closed our road, taking all our parking and no vehicle access through The Square. This did not reopen until September of that year. And, of course Covid, which affected everyone. But our amazing team stuck together, supported each other and us, and were there to help get us back on our feet.
4. Tell us a funny story that happened throughout your time running The Coffee Club.
When we opened the cafe we had a Kiwibank ATM (money machine) which was protruding by our cafe. When this was removed, a few years later, people did not notice, they would still come and look for the machine through the glass and were confused, much to our team members’ amusement.
5. What motivates you to work hard? And why?
Our amazing team members, Customers and our Community
6. Is there anything you want to say to your customer?
Thank you for supporting us through the years…many have become our friends. We have so many regular customers, it feels like family.  Also, our team members, many who have been with us for more than five years…thank you. Also, our daughter Amy who has recently rejoined the team.
