Auckland kava bar Four Shells now on Uber Eats after decision reversed

Uber Eats now allows kava to be sold on its platform. Photo / Todd Henry

Uber Eats has reversed its earlier decision and given the green light for an Auckland kava bar to sell its wares on the popular delivery app.

Auckland kava bar Four Shells has previously been rebuffed twice, decisions the owners labelled bizarre.

Now lovers of the root and the kava-curious can have the drink delivered to
their door if they live in central Auckland, after 4pm seven days a week.

A spokesperson for Uber Eats told the Herald that the company had reviewed their decision and "determined that these products could be sold safely".

Kava is entirely legal in New Zealand, regulated as a food under the Food Standards Code.

Co-owner Todd Henry told the Herald earlier this year that, during level 3 lockdown, they had remained open for contactless takeaway and offered a delivery service that had formed a "pretty substantial" part of the business.

He revealed that they frequently delivered to Managed Isolation facilities, where there was initially some questions asked but it was "never an issue".

Bucking trends in the hospitality industry, Four Shells has grown its business in the last 18 months and has recently rebranded to reflect recent changes.

Co-owner 'Anau Henry said those changes reflected Four Shells' position as a cultural space.

"As a Pacific space in the city, Four Shells is a reflection and representation of all the beautiful things about the Pacific. Warm, inclusive and relaxed," she told the Herald.

Uber Eats now allows kava to be sold on its platform. Photo / Todd Henry

'Anau and Todd Henry from Four Shells. Photo / Todd Henry

However, her husband Todd Henry acknowledged concerns that the move to UberEats could be seen as furthering a cultural disconnect from kava's origins and traditions.

"We have thought about that and our hope with UberEats is that people will see it on the platform ... it's another form of getting the place out there," Henry told the Herald.

"We will include some literature with the products for anybody that orders from UberEats, about our space, about drinking kava and what it is and what it is not.

"I hope people will maybe try it and then come and check out the space. To experience kava in its entirety involves not only drinking good quality kava but in a good space, an inclusive space with good people."

The store has had takeaway options available for some time but in preparation for UberEats arrival, Four Shells now offers a whopping 2-litre takeaway bottle, for groups to enjoy.

Takeaway kava now available in 2L and 750ml bottles! #loyaltokava #kava #fourshellskava #fourshellstofreedom...

Posted by Four Shells Kava Lounge on Friday, June 11, 2021

Misconceptions

Earlier this year, Todd Henry told the Herald that many New Zealanders remained "closed-off" to kava.

"We see people come in all the time with all these misconceptions about kava," he added, saying international visitors were regularly surprised by the reluctance of Kiwis of non-Pasifika descent to embrace the drink.

He said he had seen people who came into the bar quickly have their minds changed on kava, which he said many people still thought of as "illicit".

The drink, made from the roots of the Piper methysticum plant, has a long history of use in the Pacific and differing kava cultures can be found across islands in Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.

The drink has been growing in popularity across New Zealand in recent years and is increasingly consumed in non-traditional settings.

Its use by Kiwi athletes has been well documented and popular rapper Melodownz bases a talk show, Kava Corner, on sharing the beverage with local celebrities.

It is entirely legal in New Zealand, regulated as a food under the Food Standards Code.

The legal standing of the drink has been further solidified by a recent decision by an international food standards body.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission last year established that the root, when mixed with water, was legally a drink and the decision allows countries across the world to trade kava drinks.