Brooke Williams and Hayden Manson grew up around Night ‘n Day. The pair were both raised in Southland, so they were very familiar with the stores' role in local communities before taking over the Alexandra location in 2020.
The couple lived in Australia pre-Covid. Hayden worked in different areas of the mines and as a fire suppression technician, while Brooke was an accounting software consultant. The pair had two boys and started looking for opportunities to bring them back across the Tasman. The opening with Night ‘n Day came in April 2020, right at the beginning of Covid restrictions. They did all their training in level four and took over the store in level three. It was a challenge settling into a new life in their home country with young children, taking on a new business and navigating restrictions simultaneously.
“We love the vast range that Night ‘n Day offers. We love a challenge. We love to do things right and do our best. So putting our all into this and wanting to better ourselves each day and beat numbers every year definitely helps maintain that passion. We love a happy customer, and it doesn’t go without having an awesome team alongside us with the same mindset,” said Williams.
A typical day at the Alexandra Night ‘n Day will see Hayden up early, opening the store and Brooke arriving once the kids are off to school. The family live on-site, so they might not be behind the counter when the kids get home, but there are always jobs to be done. The boys like to help out where they can too. With Covid still lingering and the nation facing massive staff shortages, Brooke and Hayden haven’t had much time off. Staff shortages are still an issue as the store is open from 5 am to 11 pm, seven days a week. They hope to have a strong team that will mean the family can have a break this summer.
The store won the Night ‘n Day Store of the Year and Excellence in Coffee awards this year. When it comes to coffee making, they bought the Roles Royce of coffee machines just before winter and credited it to making consistent coffee.
Winners at the Night 'n Day awards
“A quick coffee is also important to us, and all the staff are trained by Hayden, so they are all on the same page of doing things correctly.”
The store presentation, the customer service, and the food presentation are the most significant factors the pair believed helped them receive Store of the Year. Excellent service is what they strive for as it creates happy customers. They greet, get to know and remember customers’ coffee orders. They also have a store van that delivers orders directly to customers, cutting out the middleman and ensuring food arrives fast and fresh.
Williams and Manson pride themselves in utilising technology most efficiently. The store was very tired when the couple took over, so everything in it now is new. There is an App that holds all the food safety information and devices working to ensure the plant and equipment perform correctly. The couple are very hands-on, so they have nothing to stress about when it is time for auditing.
Store undergoing a refresh
Supporting the local community is incredibly important to their Alexandra store, being a small town and all about the locals - the pair love to give back where they can because "without our loyal customers, we wouldn't be where we are today."
“It’s the small things that are big things to us.”
