TEN YEARS OF SHAWTYS

"10 years of Shawtys"

As many of you may or may not know, my Dad was inspired to open a cafe 11 years ago, after the tragic death of his daughter, my sister Samantha. With a professional background in hairdressing, its fair to say he didn't entirely know what he was getting into when he first ventured into hospitality but like any time that my Dad has his head in a project, a lack of experience never stopped him. With the help of his extensive, extended family, his hard work paid off and he opened the doors to "Shawtys" on January 9th 2005, honouring Sam through Namesake.
Family involvement in the restaurant spanned from a sister who did the accounts, and another who worked as a chef for 9 years; to bartending nephews, and nieces who waited tables. My Nana did the Shawtys laundry for 8 years and cleared the odd table in times of desperation until her sad passing in 2013.  The Sheridan family have always been in the background of the operation in various capacities and thank goodness there are so many of them to call upon!
Dad has been driven by a love of business and "doing things well", and Shawtys has thrived on this drive. It hasn't been all smooth sailings however, with permanent staff hard to come by in such an isolated, seasonal location, in 10 years he has worked as a Boss, Barista, Bartender, Chef and a Dish-washer.
Obviously, Shawtys hasn't become the success that it is today all thanks to my Dad alone. In the the past 10 years we have welcomed and fare-welled some amazing staff members all of whom have contributed something to the business, and are of course important members of the unique "Shawtys Family".
One of the very first Shawtys employees was my Auntie Jay who stayed with Shawtys for a massive 9 years and worked like an absolute machine over countless crazy summers. With her partner Terrangi, they worked together to get the Shawtys kitchen off the ground during the first two years. Without Jay's support and beautiful hardworking nature Shawtys may have never made it out of my Dads head.  In October 2005 Shawtys Welcomed Lizzy. Lizzy was a god-send for my Dad and a total game changer for the front of house with hospitality experience and a passion for Shawtys, she was a fun and friendly member of the team whose bubbly personality was sadly missed upon her departure in 2011.  2008 saw the arrival of another dutch hospo-superstar, Youri. Youri contributed a lot of high standards and professionalism over 7 loyal years at Shawtys until his departure at the end of 2014.  He will be missed for his impeccable eye to detail and common grammatical errors.  Mike joined Shawtys in the Kitchen in march of 2007 until 2011 when he left us to play with some wires pursuing an electrician apprenticeship, he was joined in the Kitchen by Kheim in October of 2008 whose crazy laughter was heard throughout the shop until we sadly said goodbye to her also in December 2013.  2011 was a big year for both my family and Shawtys when my Dad met his wife Rachel. Naturally, Rach worked at Shawtys in numerous roles, contributed new and fresh ideas and in particular, was responsible for the little bits of fudge which often accompanies your coffees. In October 2014  Shawtys was lucky to be joined by Brad who took the kitchen by storm with gorgeous food, a few inappropriate jokes and a serious reputation for showing a bit of butt crack. With some recent departures from long term staff, our longest serving front of house staff member is now the lovely Anna, who continued to work in marketing for Shawtys during her maternity leave and with her depth of management skills and business knowledge we welcome her return to Shawtys as operations manager. Many others have spent significant years of their lives at Shawtys including Tee, Casey, Susan, Nathan, Eyrun, Zhivanna, Matty, Saf, Jules and so many other beautiful people!

Over 10 summers Shawtys has welcomed to the family seasonal workers from all over the globe who have busted it out in the crazy summer months and become part of the Shawtys family for life, taking their experience and memories of Shawtys back home with them.

Its crazy to think that in the early years of Shawtys, "Troys Hairdressing" was still in business next door in what we now use as an office/storeroom. In 2009 Shawtys expanded to include Grappa Bar. Grappa was opened with a vision of a lounge bar more upmarket than anything Twizel had seen before, featuring an array of cocktails dreamed up with the help of Leggie, who was also decorating the walls at the time. Twizel may or may not have been ready for the bar to be erected but never the less, tourists came from far and wide to take photo's of Leggies “last supper” which was spectacularly chalked on the back wall for a few years. In 2012 some big renovations took place and the Shawtys decor went from "retro" with copper edging and a red feature wall that was probably quite trendy at the time… to "New York timeless" with large mirrors, framed pictures and textured black and white wall paper - keeping of course the old school brick to contribute warmth, soul and character.  It didn't stop there, in 2013 the outdoor area was enclosed by new outdoor booth seating and leaners to complement the outdoor summer dining atmosphere. Things don't stay still for long at Shawtys however and my Dad and Rach are not short of ideas for future projects so as always, watch this space.

Speaking of changes.
The very first Shawtys menu was Italian inspired and featured mainly pasta and pizza. This quickly changed to include main dinner meals, along side the gourmet pizza menu which was the original culinary feature for "Shawtys Cafe & Gourmet Pizza Bar" with some of the old favourites still present on today's menu.  Significant changes to the Shawtys menu took place Seasonally to include available produce and foods appropriate for very hot summers, and very cold winters. Over the 2015 annual winter break, current head chef Brad has been working on a new menu for the winter months. The annual winter shut down at Shawtys serves as a much needed break for permanent staff who have carried us through the hectic summer season, a time to re group and implement changes for the year to come and way to break up the quieter (very quiet) winter months in Twizel. Traditionally, every January 8th, Shawtys shuts the door to remember Samantha on the anniversary of her passing

In 10 years Shawtys has created standing traditions from the use of supreme coffee and  the Emersons Pilsner on tap. The Masterclass of beer introduced lots of local and international craft beers with a spot of Ostler wine tasting and degustation menu nights. The red carpet evenings were a hit and grappa lounge has seen some spectacular live music. In celebration of Shawtys 10th year expect to see some “10 years of Shawtys” promotions as Shawtys continues to grow and make memories.



The Shawtys family grows year after year and not just in the staff that come and go, but with the regular customers who have supported us from the beginning, or since they first walked in the door. In late 2009 shawtys introduced a loyalty program to acknowledge and reward the support its most frequent faces many of whom we still see everyday. The first person to be loaded up as a Shawtys VIP was Twizels own Nicola Graham on the 24th of October 2009, and we welcome her to come in and collect a 50 dollar voucher anytime after we re-open on May 28th - Congrats! Shawtys now has over 1000 loyalty members receiving rewards for their custom at Shawtys. Although he may be a man on few words, I know my dad appreciates whole heartedly the support he has received from the locals and Holiday makers in Twizel, knowing Shawtys would not be where it is today without each and every one of you.

The future is bright for Shawtys with still many changes changes taking place every year. Shawtys is still supported largely by family members and I thank my incredible Auntie Alhena who does the Shawtys accounts and has been on hand all day to send me the dates and figures needed for this article.  In 2015 Dad manages Shawtys with Rachel, and my two year old brother Noah with another baby on its way. A lot has changed for our family and for Shawtys in 10 years and I write this anticipating my own adventures over seas in June, when I will be hanging up my Supreme apron and starting a life in London. I look forward to seeing all my favourite faces over the next few days for my last week behind the coffee machine and thank you in advance for your continued support of Shawtys. Heres to the next 10 years!

Gessica Sheridan