Board Chair Jack McDonald says the Paekākāriki Community Board is taken aback and disappointed to see the slurs on the community from the owner of the Kāpiti Cantina, Deborah Lee Marlow.
“These ungracious and offensive comments disregard the support her business has received from the community”, says Jack McDonald, Chair of the Paekākāriki Community Board.
“Paekākāriki is a diverse, multicultural community and our nature is very welcoming of new residents and businesses who contribute to our vibrant culture. We are known across the district for our positive community spirit”.
He says that, “in a small community, goodwill is an essential ingredient for business success. While some in the community were alienated by Ms Marlow’s actions and attitudes, there has been no evidence to support her view that her nationality, or jealousy of her project, were responsible”.
The Cantina received huge support from the community including financial backing, participation in working bees on a voluntary basis, strong patronage from the community particularly in the initial stages and some residents even regularly ran errands for Ms Marlow.
McDonald went on to say, “there have been very troubling reports of tradespeople, investors, shareholders and even staff not receiving proper payment from the Kāpiti Cantina. Many local residents have been affected by Ms Marlow’s irresponsible actions”.
“The police have informed members of the community that Marlow has left the country and so we sincerely hope that all those affected are paid in full and that the authorities help to ensure this”, he says.
The unsubstantiated business successes reported in the press allowed her to gain undeserved credibility with investors and other supporters.
“It is a challenge to run successful businesses in Paekākāriki”, says Mr McDonald. “For businesses to be successful they need to draw in clientele from across the district and the wider region as our current businesses do successfully”.
“To blame business failure on the Paekākāriki community reflects a lack of business acumen and suggests that Marlow is not the business expert that she claims to be”.
