May 2025 Business Updates

In this post, we share our business updates from May 2025, a month when we started dreaming again and prioritising what really matters to us within the business. These updates were originally posted on our Facebook page.

May 4

Business Update #11:

Hi everyone!

It’s liam here. People often tell me how much of a difference the bowling club makes to Dunedin. I never know what to say to this, because I don’t know what it means to make a difference. I don’t know what that kind of thing feels like, all I know is that we are trying to do this thing, and we hope that it will work!

I feel a lot more moved to think how Dunedin has changed me. The bowling club has always been a kind of idealistic, naive dream. That idea that hundreds of people would want to gather together, wait in a queue, and all eat the same thing, for the sake of a cheap feed and a feeling of belonging.

Yet somehow, we opened, and hundreds of you came. You came with your ice cream containers, Olivani containers, and cutlery you bought from home. And I think we all left feeling a little more hopeful. We opened the eatery, and you crammed the serving room- and I hid out the back. Because I was so amazed and terrified that so many people would come!

And there have been countless people who have come in and offered us kind words, washed our windows, baked us bread, or neatly stacked the books in the children’s library.

And I think it’s all for the sake of love. I think the bowling club has only worked because this crazy naive dream of ours spoke to a longing in people. That we want to be together and that we want to love one another. And I can’t believe that even three years on, when the excitement has faded, people still come for that very same thing.

It’s been a tumultuous three years of the bowling club, but we always come back to this. That we can share in life with you all through food, and it can bring us hope.

I feel hope, because I think we can still focus on this “togetherness” through our business. Yes, we need to be practical, but I think there is always space for the dreamy side of life. Otherwise, what’s the point?

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend, and I can’t wait to have you all in on Monday!

Love,

Liam

May 11th

Business Reflection #12:

About 2 years ago, recently after we opened the eatery, a wonderful woman set up a free seed library at the shop. (It’s still there & it’s awesome!).  I remember her cautiously approaching me and then saying something like, “hey, I think it’s important that you realise you're operating a serious community service. Burn out is really common. Remember to take care of yourselves first.”

I listened and thanked her for her care, but at that time, I couldn’t fully “receive” her cautionary message. I probably whizzed back to the kitchen, my mind buzzing with my to-do list that I took too seriously. 

Since this initial message of caution (and love), dozens of others have encouraged Liam and me in similar ways. Simple messages like “don’t let your cup run dry” are frequent.

Every time we receive a message like this, we acknowledge the truth in it. We acknowledge that we’ve been ignoring some of our own needs, but we don’t know what to do about it. I often feel a bit helpless, like I’m “drowning” in this business. We’ve just been trying to get by. ‘We’re caring for ourselves enough,’ I’ll tell myself. ‘We’re still here.’ We’re not actually “drowning”... but we haven’t been flourishing either.

Something has shifted, though. Recently, we’ve been able to really receive these messages of care and caution. We’ve been able to realise our own agency, to make choices to prioritise ourselves and our needs… It’s uncomfortable though. We’re amongst a gooey transition because of this shift.

And despite all the goo, all the discomfort, the biggest lasting feeling I have is hope. Finally, for the first time in three years, I feel like I can dream again. I can really believe in what we’re doing. I can feel its beauty & its significance in our wee corner of the world.

I’m currently away, as many of you know. I won’t be physically back for a while, but paradoxically, I feel able to be present for the first time in a long time. Present with myself, with others, with our business and our dreams. Gooey transitions can be beautiful too. 

I feel an immense amount of gratitude. For our community who believes in us. For all of you who have reminded us to “take care.” For all of our teammates who take the time to understand us and our humanity and cheer us on. For all of you  who lead with love, inspiring me again and again. If it weren’t for you, Liam & our team, there’s no way I would’ve stepped away for a while. Even though the circumstances of my “stepping away” are really heavy, I feel a lightness emerging. I feel hope. And so much love.

I’m sharing some pictures of Liam and I, from our food truck days. Looking back at these pics, I cringe a bit because we were so naive. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And I also feel so much love for who we were back then… just some kids with some dreams, who felt alive and believed in their own agency. And I feel so grateful, because in a lot of ways, we’re still those same “kids.” We’ve learnt a lot more than we knew then, and we’ll continue to do so for the rest of our days. I feel grateful for the opportunity to grow & learn, and to continue being a “kid” with big dreams.

☮️

Lots of love (and light) (and hope),

Jackie