Can you introduce yourself?  

So my name is Phuong. I’m the owner and operator of Good Hood Eatery. 

 

So tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.   

So I have been in the industry for around 15 years. I was a chef before this. I did open a few other cafes before this one. Common Ground in Browns Bay, Dear Jane in Mount Albert and also Little King Cafe, Milford. That goes back to about 10 years ago.

Can you tell us a little bit about the local area community and why you chose to open up here?   

Castor Bay is a really tight, small community. Yeah, so it’s between Marangi Bay and Wilford. So there’s the people in the middle of this area. We have regular customers that come here every day. All the same people, so the baristas know their coffee order when they show up to the door straight away. Its mainly residents during the week and on the weekends they bring their families too.

 

And so what can someone expect when they’re visiting this space or this cafe? 

Good food, good service, somewhere to relax and chill. This is a very laid-back kind of area. Yeah, it’s not that busy as some other areas. It’s a really great location, right at the bottom of the hill.  

 

If there was one thing that Good Hood wanted to be known for, what would it be?  

The Neighbourhood cafe. Taking care of everyone.

 So it’s a community really?  

Yes.

Why did you choose to partner with The Alternative?   

So I think it’s more about the consistency of the product. Some other products you get up and downs. But this one its like, you know, you have the consistency that meets the customers expectation. So when they come here, you know they say “I want this brand.” You know it can just perform for you.