But now amid a recession and job losses across all sectors, de Jong admits it’s more of a struggle than ever to keep the doors open.
“It’s even worse than Covid, we don’t have the extra help that we had during Covid,” he tells the Herald.
The past couple of years have seen food prices go up, inflation skyrocket and the cost of living increase.
“The nature of our business means that the only way we can cover our costs is to raise prices. But because of what we sell, you’re not going to come to us every day, but maybe every couple of weeks,” de Jong points out.
“And so through no fault of our customers, a lot of them have said, ‘well, we can’t afford as much, so our spending is going to be much lower’.
“And because the costs continue to go up, it’s like they’re completely unbalancing now.”
He stopped paying himself a salary and began to look at swapping imported goods for local suppliers.
“That’s a really positive thing that’s coming through - let’s start supporting local, because locals want local, and we’re actually realising a lot of what we were getting imported, we can actually get local.
“But a lot of the outgoing costs are just so high that we’re getting close to that red line of, do we continue?”
He hasn’t raised his prices yet this year, and knows of other small businesses in the area that have recently closed their doors due to financial struggles.
Last week, he bit the bullet and shared a post on social media calling on customers for their support.
He wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that we share some difficult news. Blackforest Gourmet Albany, our beloved family-owned establishment, is facing challenging times.
“Despite our passion and dedication, we find ourselves struggling to keep the doors open. If things do not improve, we will have to close our shop in the next few months.”
Since then, de Jong says the support from customers and from other local businesses has been “overwhelming”.
“I didn’t expect that ... someone commented saying, ‘Hey, I work in social media, I want to offer you some help free of charge’. I had someone else reach out who owns a platter company saying, ‘What can we do? Let’s collaborate’.”
Now, de Jong wonders why he didn’t reach out to his community earlier instead of “putting on this brave face”.
“It really opened my eyes. I started to realise I need to really open up to the wider community and say, ‘I’m here, this is what I’m providing’. And that’s the part I love.”
Blackforest is just one of many specialty food stores facing the prospect of having to close.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Dunedin craft chocolate company Ocho is seeking voluntary administration.
The chairman of the company’s board of directors, Pete Lead, said “This is not a decision that has been made lightly and the new board is mindful what this announcement means for the 11 highly talented and dedicated Ocho staff.”
Speaking to the Herald, Lead said the current economic climate was “challenging”.
“Consumers are being forced to make difficult choices around their purchasing, and sometimes that means buying a cheaper option or going without.”
And organic grocery chain Huckleberry is in liquidation, with its three stores forced to close and around 35 staff members affected.
Its director Darren Guo told the Herald at the end of May that the closure was “heartbreaking.
“We had this vision to revitalise this long-standing business … and it’s very disappointing that it has come to this.”
Bethany Reitsma is an Auckland-based journalist covering lifestyle and entertainment stories who joined the Herald in 2019. She specialises in telling Kiwis’ real-life stories, money-saving hacks and anything even remotely related to coffee.
