On Friday 23 October, the Hawke’s Bay (Heretaunga), home of award-winning NZ wines, blue skies for days and incredible Art Deco architecture, will be celebrating their Anniversary Day. So, what better time than now to celebrate our award-winning local franchisee, Andy?
He takes great pride in his two stores and constantly invests back into his business to ensure they not only look immaculate, inside and out, but also operate to the highest standard. Continually working on improvements to his in-store systems, he is a master at figuring out operational efficiencies.
“It is important to me that a customer gets their burger in record time and it is fresh, hot and tasty, as it should be. Our burgers are ‘fresh to order’ and we need to make sure we have every staff member working cohesively to make the experience a great one, and a quick one. That’s our competitive edge and I stand by it”.
Testament to this, it is by his own initiative that he will be closing his Napier store, from October 27 – November 8, to make extensive improvements to his kitchen. He has even gone to great lengths and resource to have the BurgerFuel Container Kitchen (usually reserved for events and PR activations) shipped to Napier to sit outside the store and ensure that locals can still get their burger fix during the two-week upgrade. With a slightly reduced menu, online ordering unavailable and the complexities for his staff, working within a 6 x 2 metre shipping container (vastly different to the Napier store’s kitchen) he is determined to ensure his regulars aren’t too inconvenienced and there is as little disruption as possible.
His current baby is his Torino, which has a 302ci windsor small block and is fairly stock standard, except for a few additional modifications. But not for long! As always, he has big plans to modify the heck out of this machine “This car has an amazing body no rust and straight as. Future plans are to replace the original engine with something a bit more powerful (500hp is the target) along with a new drive train, brakes and suspension upgrade, to handle the additional power’. We love his dedication to keeping this beast true to it's racing heritage.
Hawkes Bay proud, Andy knows his town through and through and is always quick with recommendations on local sights to see and where to eat and drink. Well aware of how spoilt they are for variety and quality when it comes to the amazing wineries and restaurants his hometown has to offer.
Always acting as our voluntary tour guide, there isn’t a member of HQ who hasn’t sat in the passenger seat of the Torino, perusing the town with Andy, when visiting on business. You will usually find yourself ending up at his place having dinner with the family or chatting to his customers, who know him by name, when visiting his stores.
“I love getting to know people. Coming from Auckland there is a really nice family feel about Hawke's Bay. People take time to stop and have a chat, catch up and listen. That level of community interaction is awesome. There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be”.
Make a stop off and meet the BurgerFuel Napier or Hastings crew while exploring the meticulously preserved Art Deco buildings, or while on your first leg of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail. A BurgerFuel burger tastes excellent whether sober, or half-cut. Enjoy!
