Kahu Parmenter left her corporate job of 10 years to open Kai Mocha Cafe, in Kaikorai Valley Rd — with no previous experience in hospitality whatsoever.
Now, about eight months in, Mrs Parmenter said she still sometimes got nervous about the decision.
She described it as her mid-life crisis.
‘‘Some days I’m like, ‘Oh my God, did I make the right decision?’
‘‘I probably should have gotten a Ferrari maybe instead.’’
The cafe, housed inside a converted office and garage space, opened in October 2025.
Owning her own cafe had always been a dream and opening one with no experience was ‘‘a big leap for sure’’, Mrs Parmenter said.
She used to drive along Kaikorai Valley Rd to get to work and often wondered about the lack of cafes in the area.
She had also started reflecting on whether she wanted to remain involved in a corporate hierarchy.
When the lease came up, she decided to leave it all behind.
While it could still be nerve-racking, Mrs Parmenter said she was excited from day one.
‘‘This is probably going to sound crazy to people who have worked in hospo for a long time, but I think it’s great fun.
‘‘I don’t think I’ve ever had any bad customers. They’re all lovely and just having that interaction feels, for me, absolutely great.’’
She believed the cafe was ‘‘tracking in the right direction’’.
‘‘The roadworks down the way probably made a little bit of an impact, but I don’t feel that has been a massive concern.’’
The work, further down the road, had dissuaded one of her regulars from coming in more often.
Asked about the cost-of-living crisis, Mrs Parmenter said she was worried but was trying to be ‘‘a bit more of an optimist’’.
‘‘You can’t help but have that as a concern.
‘‘I would have liked my food to be really nice and cheap, but in this framework you can’t do that.’’
Being joined by an experienced hospitality worker also helped.
It could take a year or two for the cafe to really find its rhythm and, because she had nothing to compare it to, Mrs Parmenter said she was going with the flow most of the time.
But she liked that people were still walking through the door of her small cafe for the first time.
‘‘For me, it’s about welcoming people, having great service and making people feel like they are somebody when they walk in the door.’’
