Surf Shack Eatery cafe and Victoria Lemon Transform Today gym surrounded by flood waters in Waihi Beach after a storm on January 22. Photo / Supplied
Waihī Beach business owners facing tens of thousands of dollars in storm damage have praised the “incredible” support from the community and university student volunteers.
Rising floodwaters on January 22 surged through the entrances of Surf Shack Eatery and Victoria Lemon Transform Today gym next door, leaving both businesses facing the daunting reality of starting again.
Surf Shack Eatery co‑owner Pip Coombes said the Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s community resilience adviser had organised much‑needed support last week.
She said five members of the Hamilton branch of the University of Waikato’s student volunteer army — Zoe Wakefield, Kylo O’Toole, Alex Johnson, Samantha Pemberton and Isaiah Dougherty — spent Thursday helping remove flood‑ruined appliances from the cafe and equipment from the gym next door.
Coombes said the students helped the Surf Shack staff remove 17 fridge-freezers, hot plates, a washing machine and dryer, a commercial dishwasher, a heater, frying equipment and other damaged items from the premises for disposal at the Waihī and Paeroa refuse transfer stations.
She said the community response to their plight had been “absolutely incredible”.
Friends offered the use of a large flat‑bed trailer, and Billy Owens of Owens Flooring Waihī Beach “generously loaned” them a large truck, enabling them to transport the ruined items to the dump.
“We are hugely grateful to the community who have rallied around us,” she said.
“With the students and Kurt’s help, we got all the really heavy stuff out of our premises and the gym next door.”
Coombes said they had more than 1000 messages of support via social media.
For Coombes and her partner, Jo Coombes, the losses were deeply personal.
“Surf Shack Eatery is not just a business,” she said.
“It’s a huge part of our lives, and our 20 staff — including Jo’s son, head chef Bradley Major — are also hugely impacted. Our team is like family to us."
She said the cafe lost $22,500 worth of food alone, and total losses are expected to reach well into the tens of thousands - the full extent of contamination damage remains uncertain.
“We are still waiting for more information from our insurance adjuster concerning the effects of black water — wastewater containing sewerage and farm runoff — which may be under the floorboards,”
Although insured, Coombes said depreciation would be deducted from some claims, including the ruined food.
“It’s gutting. We’ll be closed for months.”
She said they planned to keep paying permanent contracted staff, but were still working out what the closure meant for their casual and part‑time workers.
“The worry for us is that, given the limited compensation we’re likely to get, we’ll have to dip into all our retirement savings and personal funds to cover some of the losses.”
Next door, gym owner Victoria Lemon is facing similar devastation and the daunting task of starting again twice, after flooding damage in 2023.
She said the assistance from the Student Volunteer Army and community members provided much‑needed physical and emotional support on what was “a really tough day”.
Lemon, who became a personal trainer in 2009, said she had poured her “heart, enthusiasm, energy and creativity” into making her business a success.
She has moved damaged gym and office equipment into storage while waiting for the insurance adjustor’s final assessment.
“I know Pip and Jo are the same as me — it’s not only the loss of income,” she said.
“We literally pour ourselves into our businesses. I feel like I have lost a part of myself. It’s heartbreaking.”
Western Bay of Plenty District Council community resilience advisor Kurt Waugh said watching the student volunteers in action was inspiring.
“Everyone worked hard,” he said. “I was really impressed with how it all came together and how amazing the student volunteers were.”
Student Volunteer Army co‑president Zac Isaac said giving back to the community was core to their kaupapa.
“We saw what was going on, and some of us are from the Bay of Plenty, so it was close to our hearts. We wanted to help,” he said.
Volunteer Isaiah Dougherty, originally from Tauranga, said seeing the widespread flooding motivated him to get involved.
“It was great — we hauled some fridges and equipment and helped some lovely people out. It made me feel useful to give back to the community.”
The Bay of Plenty Times understands the warehouse next door was also flooded, and is owned by the landlord of the gym and cafe owners. He could not be reached for comment.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.