'Stumble along in the dark': Mount café owner on months of uncertainty
A cafe owner in Mount Maunganui is struggling with ongoing business uncertainty following a series of landslips in the area. The most recent slip has caused further anxiety for local business owners who lack a clear timeline for recovery or reopening.
Why it matters
The story illustrates the economic and psychological toll that recurring natural disasters take on small business communities.
<p>A Mount Maunganui cafe owner says she is being worn down by six months of uncertainty, with the <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/26/fresh-mt-maunganui-slip-a-reactivation-of-januarys-fatal-landslide/" target="_blank">latest landslip reactivation</a> over the weekend deepening fears about how much longer she can hold on.</p> <p>Michelle Craig, who runs the Beach Hut Cafe near the base of Mauao, said the pattern of "slippage on top of slippage" had become the defining feature of the past six months since <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/02/01/recovery-operation-at-mt-maunganui-concludes-11-days-after-landslide/" target="_blank">January's slip</a> crashed down onto the Mount Maunganui Holiday Park and <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/01/24/mt-maunganui-slip-victims-named-as-recovery-phase-begins/" target="_blank">killed six people</a>.</p> <p>""It's a little disappointing, but these things happen now, and they've been happening frequently."</p> <p>She was relieved the area had already been closed off when the most recent slip occurred, with the mood locally staying relatively steady.</p> <p>"People are reacting differently because it's not a fatal slip.
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