A quickly rising star on the local hospitality scene Harriet Ogilvie, the owner of Hattie’s Cafe on Achilles Ave, is a businesswoman, a homeowner, a sports coach and avid netball and volleyball player – and is only 22.
The Nelson born entrepreneur has a huge zest for life and a deep passion for providing quality food and excellent customer service to the region. What began as a summer job as a runner at The Apple Shed in Mapua quickly saw Harriet fall in love with the industry. “When I was at college my sister dragged me along to work at the Apple Shed one summer. I was only meant to be there for two weeks and ended up staying for two years.”
“The owners, Keiran and Gemma, taught me everything I know about customer service and all things hospitality. In the beginning I was a shy little girl with next to no confidence in speaking to strangers and being able to hold a conversation with people I didn’t know. In the two years I spent there, I grew so much as a person. I have them to thank hugely for me being here and having the confidence to do what I am doing.”
Leaving The Apple Shed, Harriet went on to work at The Kitchen in Nelson. “This was my first taste of Cafe work which was a lot different to a restaurant than you'd expect. The fast-paced cafe taught me how speed is an essence when making coffee, and they taught me the importance of making really good coffee. Being able to create something that didn't just taste amazing but looked the part too.
“I always knew I enjoyed making coffee, I wasn't a very artistic child but making coffee was an art I could do.
“I became manager at The Kitchen which helped me understand more of what went into the cafe - everything behind the scenes and the work involved in making it run smoothly. It made me think on my feet a lot of the time and solve problems at a fast pace, and I loved it. This was when I knew it was something I wanted to do myself. I realised I could be a leader and I could create something of my own one day if I wanted.”
Harriet has lived in Nelson her whole life. She plays netball for Prices Waimea in one of their Premier teams, and volleyball for Pines Volleyball Club. Harriet is also in her third year of coaching the Nelson College for Girls Senior A volleyball team, an important role that she sees as a great community involvement and a way of giving back to a sports environment that she has been involved in for many years. “It makes for a busy life, and with the extra demands of owning the café, this year I am taking a break from playing volleyball, and instead of being out on the court I am coaching the Pines Development team.”
Not one to sit on her laurels, Harriet opened her own Cafe in September 2022, saying it was with the support of her family that her dream became a reality.
“My partner Seth Watson spends his days working for Sport Tasman, and when we are home, he helps me deal with any stressful situations I have. Puppy cuddles help too - we have a puppy, Reggie, who is the light of my life!
“My mother Kelly Bowater and father Peter Ogilvie have been my biggest support throughout my entire life and alongside Seth, they continue to be right there for me through this exciting stage as well. And my sister Casey who is a local midwife has been awesome too. I could not have achieved everything I have without the support of my family and those people close to me.”
The idea of opening her own business had been in Harriet’s mind for a while, and when she mentioned it to her mum they came up with a few different ideas. Their first thought was to get a coffee cart, and while they initially thought that was a good idea, Harriet soon realised it might not be ideal. “I really love having my weekends free, both for sports and for down time, and I wouldn’t have got that with a coffee cart - selfish I know! So, we decided to sit on the idea for a while and just keep our eyes peeled in case something showed up.”
Something did show up. A perfect little spot located on Achilles Avenue. Yet another supportive family member, Tony, from Bowater Toyota had a spare room which that was being used for parts storage and he had decided he should do something different with it. “Mum is on the Bowater Toyota board, and she gave Tony a little word telling him about my plan, and just like that, we had a location. And it’s a brilliant spot – right in the city, yet away from the hustle and bustle while still being close enough for office workers and shoppers to pop in for a nice lunch. And there’s so much parking!” Once the location was sorted things really started happening, says Harriet.
“The rental space got approved, renovations started, and soon enough we were opening. It was the scariest, most intense thing to go through at the time. There was so much behind the scenes stuff to do before I opened; appointments to keep, testing recipes, tasting and sampling, and finding the perfect pieces to outfit the café space. I also did a business course on the side to try and learn as much as I could about the day to day running of a successful venture, and this has proved to be incredibly helpful. And then to top it off getting a call to say that a date had been set for my scheduled for knee surgery ended up putting a delay on things. The big day for my operation was the exact day we had originally planned to open!
“Alongside family, there have been countless other people who have helped, and to whom I am forever grateful. The builders and tradespeople who did the renovations were fantastic and transformed the space to make Hattie’s such a great place for us to work, and a relaxing environment for our customers.” There’s been great financial and business advice from bankers and accountants, who helped ensure Harriet’s business plan was a good solid one, and guidance from all of the suppliers who have come on board with their amazing products.”
Open from 7am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday, Hattie's Cafe offers delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch options and tasty cabinet food, along with outstanding Sublime coffee of course. Alongside this, they also offer a catering service. “We have a catering menu for any occasion, with everything on it. If you ever need catering for morning tea, lunch, or an event of any size, we have a specialised catering menu for people to look at.”
For those people who are not partial to a coffee fix, Hattie’s Cafe also offers a delicious range of other hot and cold beverages. Delicious Organic Mango and Tangy Passionfruit smoothies are always popular, made with Goodness Kitchen frozen fruits that are exclusively grown and sourced from certified organic, pesticide-free farms.
“We are super excited to be using Goodness Kitchen products in many of our recipes at Hattie’s Cafe. We have a beautiful supply of tea from Libertine Blends as well as some other funky drinks from Urban Blends, such as Beetroot Latte, White Chocolate, Matcha Latte and more! We’ve recently started selling keep cups and have a range of colours available in store. We produce good quality food and drinks and always try our best to have something for everyone, always going above and beyond for our customers and giving excellent service.
“Everything is made fresh on site, only buying in the base ingredients. We support many local businesses by purchasing produce directly. I believe it is important to support local as much as possible and our recipes work perfectly with the locally sourced items, helping to showcase our regions amazing products.”
Starting a new business at such a young age is certainly a challenge for anyone, but one that Harriet was more than ready to take on. “My advice to anyone is to not be afraid to fail, if you put your mind towards something you are passionate about and are willing to work hard for it, it won't fail. Everything will fall into place nicely. Also, it is okay to ask for help.”
Episode 11 - living locally and working globally — The Nelson Pod
Grateful to those who helped her get started and have supported her along the way, it is the ongoing local support that drives Harriet’s passion to succeed.
“The loyalty that people have given, and continue to give me, is insane. I love that I can produce something that people love and continue to come back for. I have a huge passion for Hattie's to be somewhere people come to knowing they are going to get good service and especially good quality food and beverages. I make it a priority to remember people and their regular orders. It's the little things that keep people coming back and I believe that at Hattie's we are very good at that.”
