Foxton Hotel owners vow to carry on after being held up at gunpoint

The two men made off with a small amount of money from the armed robbery of the Foxton Hotel.

The family who own a friendly Foxton pub have vowed to keep the doors open despite being the victim of a terrifying armed robbery at the weekend.

There were just seven people in the Foxton Hotel in Main Street on Sunday afternoon when two men armed with a knife and a gun burst in demanding money.

Part-owner Cheryl Hemmingson was behind the bar and was confronted by one of the men.

"It was terrifying. It was horrible," she said.

"Everyone was just enjoying each other's company. It was totally out of the blue. You couldn't believe what you were seeing, what was happening."

Patrons were asked to hand over their cellphones and one of the offenders rifled through their bags.

CCTV footage from the Foxton Hotel.

Hemmingson was asked where the safe was, but the only money on site was the modest amount in the cash register.

"We're not a big business. There wasn't a lot of money," she said.

Hemmingson said the robbery felt like a kick in the guts because Covid-19 had significantly affected turnover and they operated solely as a social meeting place for locals. She felt for those who had lost their belongings.

The Foxton Hotel was a pub as it used to be. There were no pokie machines - just a good old-fashioned bar - so takings were always modest, which only made the heist seem even more pointless.

"That's why I was like, why us?" she said.

Hemmingson and her partner, David Curd, owned the pub after buying it from her father Bob Hemmingson in February last year. They had both previously been based in Wellington working as senior advisers for a Government agency.

She said her father had owned the pub for 26 years. It was his passion, and it was for that reason the family had made a decision to keep the doors open so he could relax and enjoy retirement.

Bob died in October.

"This was his bar. These are his regulars, who have been coming here for years," she said.

The men were wearing fluoro jackets.

Cheryl herself was diagnosed with cancer not long after buying the pub, and her children stepped in to help manage the pub during the week, while the couple did weekends. It was truly a family hotel with three generations living onsite.

Cheryl had been told her cancer was now in remission.

"I am one of the lucky ones. They got it in time," she said.

The night of the robbery, Cheryl and David had a moment when they wondered whether it was all worth it, but resolved to keep her father's dream alive.

"We thought what is the universe trying to tell us. But no, we've kept this going for a reason. We've had really good support," she said.

Cheryl sent a message to patrons via the pub's social media page.

"We are all extremely shaken by the events that took place. A big shout-out and sincere apologies to our patrons who were caught up in this horrible situation and also had their belongings taken from them," the message said.

"We are all devastated to say the least. As many will understand, the last couple of years have been difficult for small business. Sunday was a real kick in the guts. We believe these two people don't understand the devastating impact this has had on us all including our children who live on site."

These days the Family Hotel was open only Wednesday to Sunday, having dropped Monday and Tuesday, but only after running it past their valued patrons first.

CCTV footage showed the two men arrived in a white Ford Courier ute with no number plates. A police media statement says the vehicle was found on fire at Hokio Beach near Levin a short time later.

The vehicle believed to be involved in the armed robbery of the Foxton Hotel last weekend.

Police believed the car entered the beach at Waitārere before driving south to Hokio, and wanted to hear from witnesses to the incident, or from anyone with any information.

Anyone with information could call 105 with file number 220221/3668.