Kevin Carroll can answer all the questions about his new tobacco products shop in the Whangarei CBD before you have a chance to ask them, starting with "trust me, it's legal".
The expat South African has opened three other shops, in Auckland, Hamilton and Thames in the past two years, all called Smoko's Discount Tobacco Specialist, and all of them trading nicely he says, hence his foray into Whangarei.
He's used to being challenged by the anti-smoking lobby but says he can't understand why he should be given a hard time for opening a speciality tobacco shop when the products are freely available in about 7500 retail outlets around the country, most of them your often less-than-secure and very accessible dairies.
By contrast his shops were designed with security in mind, selling nothing but tobacco products.
He calls them upmarket, boutique R18 destination stores, environments designed to "give a bit more dignity to tobacco product purchase".
"I am doing nothing illegal and I have set up a high-tec cross-checking system to be as sure as we can be that we are not selling to underage smokers.
"I have had dealings with the Maori Select Committee and I've been on television ... and I certainly hope this new store doesn't get up Hone Harawira's nose," he says jokingly (the member of Parliament is a militant non-smoker).
He says there was an attempt to picket the shop in Thames but it failed to attract much attention and died away.
"I think people realised this is a freedom of choice issue.
"About a quarter of the adult population make the choice to smoke and in my view this is the most responsible way to sell tobacco products."
The Whangarei shop is a stream-lined, no frills and very secure small outlet in the Strand Arcade, selling cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and equipment like filters and pipes.
The stock includes top-shelf items like Cuban cigars selling for $100 a-piece.
The counter runs the width of the shop, with just enough room for two employees. A strong but discreet wire barrier from counter to ceiling and from wall to wall puts paid to any thoughts of jumping the counter to snatch stock.
Clients are all ages and from all walks of life, he says. All over 18, he stresses, and some were in their 80s and 90s.
The two Whangarei employees bring Kevin Carroll's workforce to nine in the four shops, and he says surely even militant non-smokers should give him some credit for creating employment.
Now 49, he used to own a tobacco factory in South Africa before coming to New Zealand five years ago.
Opening tobacco shops was a logical step to use his speciality know-how, he says.
And, yes, he's always smoked and he still smokes, 20 a day.
The sale of tobacco products is tightly controlled by the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990.
The act covers every aspect of a retail operation, including advertising, retail display, free distribution and rewards (banned, with breaches incurring fines of up to $50,000), co-packaging, sale of small quantities, vending machines, sale and supply of tobacco and herbal smoking products to under 18s, herbal smoking products, labelling and health messages, toy tobacco products (cannot be sold to under 18-year-olds), and annual reports and returns.
Spotted: a niche
New Bank St cafe Flavor is Gae and Kerry Revell's way of thumbing their noses at the economic downturn, because they have spotted a niche in the market with the increasing commercialisation of city-to-Regent strip of Bank St.
The couple has owned and operated the Whangarei Cobb & Co franchise for the past 11 years and have established the cafe in the front part of the building, putting in bi-fold doors opening on to a sidewalk courtyard. Cobb & Co continues to be fully operational.
Gae Revell said there was a real need for a cafe for business people on the city end of the strip to get takeaway cafe food or have working lunches at a cafe. She said it had been disheartening to hear of great hospitality venue's closing recently and everyone was trying hard to handle the ongoing recession, but they wanted to share their optimism for the industry. "We just have to diversify and embrace new ideas," she said.
Weather X factor
There were no deep and meaningful reasons behind Val Williams' decision to set up a small retail outlet in Cameron St in the Whangarei CBD - she was simply sick of battling winter weather driving to the markets and expos to sell her jewellery lines. VJ's Jewellery and Accessories shop is the result.
She joins three or four other small businesses which have bravely opened in the teeth of the recession figuring that if they can make it in the current climate, they will be laughing when conditions improve. She's open Wednesday to Saturday and the exposure is already bringing her new customers like the brides visiting the bridal shop over the road noticing her sign and ordering custom-made costume jewellery for their wedding parties.
She and husband Harold have been making the jewellery at home for the past eight years and Val is certainly relieved to be out of the weather. As for doing battle with the downturn, she says she will take it as it comes and just go on enjoying talking to the public. "My husband says I could talk to a grasshopper."