Bareknuckle BBQ co-owner Vanessa West at the popular establishment in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
Bareknuckle BBQ co-owner Vanessa West at the popular establishment in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor
When a booking for 60 people was a no-show at a popular Hastings restaurant on Saturday night, the owners of Bareknuckle BBQ were staring down the barrel of an expensive loss.
The entire restaurant had been reserved for the group on the busiest night of the week for the establishment.
When the group failed to show, and didn’t answer phone calls, Bareknuckle BBQ co-owner Vanessa West posted a message on social media inviting people to come down and help save the night.
What happened next blew her away.
“As soon as I put the post out, it was almost like that baseball movie Field of Dreams.
“Lights just started coming up the driveway, we had phone call after phone call saying ‘hey we have had dinner but can we come and get a bit of takeaway or can we come and get a bit of dessert’.
“People driving past were coming in and saying ‘hey we just saw your post could we get a bit of takeaway’. Yes, yes, yes.
“We ended up doing okay [on Saturday] night but it was the community support - I was blown away. I think it is a reflection of our restaurant too.”
She said they did not break even but it was still a win in her mind, given the huge support they were shown.
The community helped save the day for Bareknuckle BBQ. Photo / Paul Taylor
West said she had since spoken to the person who had made the initial booking for 60 people and there had been a communication breakdown.
She explained the person was very apologetic and thought they had emailed through a cancellation earlier in the week, but they could not find the email in their sent folder.
West said it appeared to be a genuine mistake.
She said no-shows and last-minute cancellations had a big impact on hospitality venues, and she had heard from other local restaurants who had gone through similar stories.
She said her advice was just to provide good communication and make sure you receive a confirmation when cancelling a large booking.
“This is the first time we have had something big like this happen.
“But we have had the tables of eight, tables of 10, tables of 20 not turn up and it makes a big impact because behind the scenes we are counting every single person who comes in ... and whether that is covering our overheads and our wages.”
She said Thursday, Friday and Saturdays were particularly big nights for restaurants, and if a large booking doesn’t show then other people had likely been turned away already as the tables were reserved.
West and partner Jamie Hohipuha took over ownership of the restaurant about eight months ago and have been building up the reputation of the eatery, which has changed ownership on a couple of occasions in the past few years.
She said most - if not all - restaurants in Hawke’s Bay were small businesses and “we are not big enterprises or franchises that are supported by the big man. We are all small businesses with families”.
