Te Araroa Coffee Shop Reopens Days After Flood Evacuation

Maree Brownlie thought she might be out of business when police ordered her to evacuate her Te Araroa coffee shop and home on Saturday evening due to landslide risks. By Tuesday morning, she was serving espresso to relieved locals at the Twilight Coffee Garden, grateful to be home.

The devastating storm hit New Zealand's East Coast town hard, giving residents just two hours' notice to evacuate. Brownlie packed what she could, but her biggest worry wasn't the fridges full of perishable food or even her business.

"It was my horses and cats I worried about most," she told reporters. She grabbed her generator and gas bottles, heading to relatives who had shelter but no power or water.

That first stressful evening became unexpectedly magical. The family fired up the barbecue and surrounded themselves with battery-powered Christmas lights to see in the darkness.

"Everything was just so anxious and stressful and pretty negative, and just to sit there surrounded by fairy lights everywhere, it was surreal," Brownlie said.

The Ripple Effect

When morning came and roads were still blocked, the community didn't wait for official help. Local residents with forestry and road construction experience jumped on borrowed diggers and graders, clearing paths between Horoera and Hicks Bay.

Brownlie fired up her coffee machine, loaded her Toyota Hilux, and bashed through the newly cleared roads to bring hot coffee and snacks to the workers. Her shop still had power when many neighbors didn't.

By Monday morning, most evacuees returned home. Brownlie expected a quiet Tuesday reopening, but locals filled her tables instead of the usual tourists and workers passing through.

"I guess people were hanging out for a good coffee," she said. But they were also seeking somewhere peaceful to process what had happened.

The feeling in Te Araroa now is one of gratitude. Brownlie said everyone remains "in awe" of the volunteers, organizations, and government services who rushed to help.

Helicopters continue regular supply runs while council teams assess and repair damaged roads. Property assessments are ongoing in Potaka, Rangitukia, and along East Cape Road, though access remains challenging in some areas.

"We've been so well looked after," Brownlie said. "Everybody's been so kind and so generous and so giving."