One and Half Hour Away Butchery

Photo was taken on the ferry to see "Hole in the Rock" in Bay of Plenty

For the past two weeks or so, my brother and his wife have been looking into this butchery one and an half hour away from where we live. The shop came to him on a listed site and he immediately took us (his wife, me and K) to see it.

There were actually available butcheries in the same area. One was smaller, quite dirtier, more car parks. The other one is more cleaner, larger in size and sits on a busy street. My bro debated with his wife on which is more practical and more profitable for them. In the end the choice was clear, and my brother was more excited about the shop on the main street.

Reasons for him to pick that one, beside situating on a main street, is that it is big and has two sizable coolrooms, something they could potentially improve upon. My sister-in-law was more conversative in stating what she wanted, because it would mean she had to leave her home. A place her family lives. It's understandable.

We have since returned to the butchery many times. We chatted with them on the shop details, and such. On a number of occasions, we even spied on them. When I say spy, I meant sitting in the car counting the number of customers going into the shop. My brother wanted to know how many people each day they serve.

Today, when I called my brother to ask if I could hang with him, he was in there. I think he went to finalise details. They had already negotiated the amount, and some conditions to fix.

I am scared for my sister in law. She hadn't been away from her family. It would be scary for her, I'd imagine. My brother on the other hand has been on his own for all of his adult life. He's very calm about it, which is confirming to her that he really wanted to buy the shop. For her, the shop is more symbolic in that it is her first step to finally come out of her comfort zone. It is sad, in a way, and I suspect she would find it hard for the first year.

The arrangement of the change of hand, if everything is going accordingly, will be finalised by the end of Feb. They would have to move in at that stage. That is the beginning of the journey for the pair.