Eva Dixon's to get the boot from the Zoo
The DomPost reports that Eva Dixon's Cafe is being given the old heave-ho from Wellington Zoo. The contract for the running of the Zoo's cafe came up last October, and, as co-owner John Heald said...
We were under the impression it wouldn't have been a problem and were waiting for the paperwork to come through ...
But no! The Zoo weighed up their options, and have decided to go with faceless, characterless corporate catering outfit Spotless.
Says Karen Fifield, chief executive of the Zoo...
We wanted to make a commercial decision which was going to result in value for the zoo.
Given that Eva's is 'predominantly family-run and locally owned', and Spotless, well, aren't (and hardly have a, err, 'spotless' reputation with regards to treating their staff well), it might be argued that the Zoo is flying in the face of one of their own stated goals, which is to "generate lasting community support by raising the profile of the Zoo and making the Zoo relevant to all Wellingtonians." (Admittedly, it does fulfill their goal of increasing "...financial sustainability by increasing revenue...").
Whatever the case, if you'd like to vent your opinion on this particular issue to someone who has some sway in the Zoo's affairs, drop Celia Wade-Brown a line - she's the WCC Councillor in charge of the Zoo Trust.
i love evas, at the zoo love it even more.
to see it go makes me sad, first the chocolate fish and now evas, what planet does our council live on?
but have you tried taking small children there to eat during the school holidays?
there are never enough staff to keep up with all the customers, and by 1pm the only thing to get to eat is hot chips.
but no evas is sad, i suspect the meer cats will be even sadder than we are
"first the chocolate fish and now evas, what planet does our council live on?"
Wasn't the Fish's problem more to do with the landlord than the council?
yep. They put the rent up.
But the original story was 'Council compliance costs forcing Fish to close!'...
Super annoyed about this. I've never thought that Eva Dixon's was really amazing but it has been a reliable coffee and breakfast place close to my house.
Won't be patronising the new cafe I wouldn't think...
I used to go to Eva at the Zoo quite a bit when I lived in the Eastern Suburbs, but it gradually dropped its standards, in my opinion. It was never as good as the Miramar Eva's, and its meals were really variable in quality.
And then some local Mums decided it was just the place to use as a sort of clubroom, which meant hanging out there for hours gossiping and hogging the few comfy banquettes while only having coffee, and their kids screaming round the place. So no wonder the ordinary diners relocated elsewhere, and the Zoo has decided to go for a caterer who can provide the service and the bucks.
I'll give the new one a go, maybe.
Last tiem I went tot he zoo I skipped Evas as I was on my own with my 3 preschoolers and I actually didn't find it too family freindly in the past. On my own I would definitely go there though. Spotless is AWFUL where I tried it in other places. What I think a place liek a zoo need s is a cafe that is really family friendly (big fenced playground) but also adult friendly
I haven't been to Wellington Zoo, but it sounds like the cafe is the sort of place that gives people a reason to go to the zoo, other than just seeing the animals.
Auckland Zoo uses Spotless too, and its cafe is nothing special.
And switching to Spotless is going to mean a shift from Eva Dixon's coffee supplier, the locally roasted Coffee Supreme, to Spotless's choice of Piazza D'Oro (owned by Sara Lee, WTF). And I can personally testify that Piazza D'Oro ain't all that.