Healthy and delicious meals provided by the Ha’apai island group
As soon as her hospitality studies were completed in New Zealand in 2017, Fetu-uloa Havili returned to Tonga to open a restaurant. Based in the Ha’apai island group 180km from the mainland, Lucky Pot Restaurant offers seasonal fare prepared in creative and interesting ways to a now largely local clientele.
When Covid-19 hit, any tourist trade disappeared with border closures. Accommodating this significant change in customer base, Fetu-uloa planned to expand her kitchen equipment to enable Lucky Pot to cater for events such as weddings and large family parties or for larger scale dinners for visiting dignitaries, as occasionally happens on the island.
To put this plan into action, staff needed training and equipment purchased to create a viable and efficient commercial kitchen. Advised of BLP’s Adaptation Grant by a friend at the Tonga Chamber of Commerce, Fetu-uloa set about applying.
With business skills learned at school and the assistance of a friend in banking, the financial information was assembled. BLP’s Tonga former business manager, Sonia Lea, kept in regular contact by email, even travelling to the restaurant in person, motivating Fetu-uloa to complete the application.
The process of applying for the grant has caused Fetu-uloa to think deeply about her business and has helped with future planning and business processes. Having received the grant from BLP, Lucky Pot has purchased an additional fridge, freezer and oven, and upgraded cooking equipment.
The restaurant is already performing well now with the help of the Adaptation Grant from BLP. All the changes we have made to the restaurant are working for the business, and we have changed lots of our other processes with the advice we received from BLP during the application. We are so grateful to BLP for this help, we could never have done this without it.
Along with the change of clientele brought about by Covid-19, Fetu-uloa has changed her menu. She is very conscious of the health problems her community faces, and every meal works to provide healthier options to combat non-communicable diseases. Diabetes, heart disease and obesity are prevalent across the islands, and all can be helped by a healthy diet.
There is little competition for restaurant-quality food on the sparsely populated Ha’apai island group, and Fetu-uloa is on a mission to provide the best possible with the traditional ingredients readily available. Think freshly caught fish, root crops, fruits and vegetables prepared by local talent healthily and nutritionally. Yum.
ENDS
The Finance Facility enables access to capital for stabilisation, recovery and growth of viable but financially distressed businesses in the Pacific Islands due to the impact of COVID-19 on the regional economy.
The Facility opened applications to Business Adaptation Grants across eight Pacific Island countries in January and June 2021. Adaptation Grants have benefitted over 200 businesses to date, and Business Link Pacific is currently processing a similar number of grants to be disbursed before the end of the year.
To further support recovery and growth, Business Link Pacific is negotiating key partnerships with Financial Institutions to offer concessionary lending to small businesses in the region and will soon make information available on accessing those products. The Finance Facility also offers curated information about financial products for businesses on its free online tool, the Finance Finder; visit https://businesslinkpacific.com today to find out what is available to your business right now.