Already reeling before the announcement of a nationwide lockdown, some hospitality businesses are now worried about their long-term viability.
Baked on Carrington owner Karen Boyd. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Faced with shutting their doors for at least four weeks, they are now relying on the government bailout that some say they are having trouble accessing.
Karen Boyd is the owner operator of Baked on Carrington, a cafe in New Plymouth which employs two staff.
Only about $200 went through the till yesterday - down from about $1500 on a good day.
Boyd said although she agreed with the shutdown, it had sent her business into a tailspin.
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"Honestly I'm freaking out. I don't know if I can sustain it because how am I going to pay my rent even?
"I haven't even paid this month's rent yet, you know what I mean?
"How do I pay the rent? How do I pay the wages, the power bill, the phone bill, my mortgage?"
Boyd said as a sole trader she did not yet have the 13-digit business number required to access government relief funds.
"I really don't understand that either because I've been trying to get my New Zealand business number.
"I even went to my accountant and he went online with me and it wouldn't get through. It kept saying 'error' but it won't tell me what the error is."
Boyd said she was worried about her staff, one of whom was expecting a baby.
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Heyday Beer Company general manager David Wood said turnover was already down by a third before yesterday's announcement stopped the business in its tracks.
"Straightaway we've not opened the bar. We're closed now for the foreseeable," Wood said.
"We're just looking now at distributing the perishables that we've got already prepared for this week's service.
"Getting that out to people who need it and shutting things down and getting things ready for a month of not getting used."
Wood said he was confident the Wellington brewery bar and restaurant could hold on to its 16 staff.
"We were lucky to get the government's wage subsidy. We should be able to retain our staff and hopefully reopen when we're able to, but yeah it's a huge loss of potential income ... hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Wood was happy with the lockdown decision however.
"A month ago this would've been unimaginable but a week ago I thought it was fairly likely seeing the way other countries were going and I think it's the right thing to do, the responsible thing to do so we're happy to do our part and self-isolate."
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Neil Cohen owns the Quarter Acre Cafe Bistro near Levin.
He too would be relying on a helping hand from the Government to pay his 20 staff.
"Thankfully the government has come up with this package so we've signed up for it. We were trying to hold out for as long as possible, but it's inevitable.
"We're not going to be able to meet the wages and the cost of goods and our fixed expenses this week."
But Cohen, who had been hoping to relaunch as a gourmet takeaway, said the subsidy would not be able to save every business.
"The package is great for staff, but for the business owner it's not conducive to keeping a business running.
"You know all your outgoings will just be outgoings without money coming in and it's a losing battle I believe and this week's sales prove that."
As part of yesterday's lockdown announcement the government extended the business support package for Covid-19 from $5.1 billion to $9.3b.
The self-employed and businesses that were less than a year old would also now be eligible for help.
And the $150,000 wage subsidy cap for all businesses was also to be removed.
Other measures announced to help people cope included banning rent increases and offering support for mortgage holders.
