The couple opened their cafe, Daily Grind, in Oamaru’s North End two months before this year’s level 4 lockdown, and suffered another blow on Saturday night when a car crashed into the building.
The cafe was closed yesterday and today, as the damage was assessed, but the first-time business owners were not letting it get to them and were hoping to reopen tomorrow.
Luckily, they were insured, Miss Donohue said.
"It’s just a bit of a setback for us, coming out of lockdown," she said.
"We’re treating it as another learning curve — we’re just having to learn a lot of other things about business really quickly."
Emergency services were called to the crash about 11.10pm on Saturday.
Sergeant Blair Wilkinson, of Oamaru, said a Mitsubishi car travelling south on Thames Hwy with no headlights on lost control, mounted the pavement and took out a road sign, before smashing into the cafe, a rubbish bin, a telephone box and a power box.
The vehicle also hit a Suzuki Swift which suffered "extensive damage", but the driver was uninjured, Sgt Wilkinson said.
The 20-year-old male driver of the Mitsubishi and his 17-year-old male passenger were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Inquiries were continuing, but speed appeared to be a factor, and police were awaiting blood test results, Sgt Wilkinson said.
Miss Donohue and Mr Wilson received a call from police on Saturday night and said it was "pretty scary walking into it all".
"It was just the thought, driving down here, ‘is this the end of our business?’," Miss Donohue said.
The couple were overwhelmed by, and very grateful for, all of the "unexpected" support they had received from the Oamaru community, Mr Wilson said.
"The amount of support we’ve had is unreal, really," Miss Donohue said.
"Other businesses, other cafes have been messaging, offering their support, asking if they can help with anything."
