• Tim and Christina.

Milford’s a people place

Milford Town Centre is such a people-orientated community. My column for this month is all about our people and connecting with local businesses. Two great businesses in Milford Road are the Swiss Bakery & Café and Milford Watch & Clock Centre.

Swiss Bakery & Cafe
Eveline, owner of the Swiss Cafe & Bakery opened her business way back in 1993. 27 years on it’s firmly imprinted in the fabric of Milford. Eveline knows her regulars on a first name basis – and what they want – often having their coffee made before they have even ordered!
Teenagers that came in with their mums back in 1993, are now parents themselves, bringing their own children in to experience the unique selection of treats.
Everything is baked on site using the best puff pastry and fillings still made in a timeless and traditional way.
One of the most popular treats is called the ‘Naughty Boy’ – a delicious Swiss double layered cookie, complete with jam filling. Many of the products are genuine Swiss recipes from different ‘canton’ (districts) in Switzerland.
The premises recently had a complete refit. Callum, the Manager, has worked with Eveline to create a more modern environment for the cafè, both inside and outside in the courtyard, whilst retaining the cafè’s Swiss heritage. There’s a lovely living-wall effect introduced and new plants provide a soft haven where you can relax and enjoy being surrounded by the colour from the Milford beautification project. Design is by Cara at Kings Plant Barn and planting by the Milford Rotary team, assisted by Mike the business association’s gardener. It has all come together beautifully.
Callum started with the business seven years ago, as his first after school job and is now a qualified chef who found his passion working in the bakery. He is also Leonie’s fiancée (Eveline’s youngest daughter) – so there’s a love story here as well, which apparently went under the radar for some time! Customer service is top of the list for Callum, who has the ‘gift of the gab’ and true to his English heritage, loves football – playing for local Takapuna United.
As well as delicious treats and great coffee, there are also gifts that are a little bit different, so make sure you pop in and see Eveline, Callum and the team at the Swiss Cafe & Bakery in Milford Road.

Milford Watch & Clock Centre
Milford Watch and Clock Centre is one of the oldest businesses in Milford. When I was talking with the owners, Tim and Christina, they told me the business was started over 40 years ago by the original owner, Arthur Eckstein. Tim and Christina celebrated 10 years ownership in April this year – in lockdown!
Tim is a Horologist – a qualified watchmaker – something of a rarity in this digital age. Tim used to work from home on watch and clock repairs and got to know Arthur as he did the overflow of Arthur’s repairs from his home workshop. Christina was a university graduate who started at Pascoe’s the Jewellers during her university days. That job turned into 18 years at Pascoe’s – 14 of them in managerial roles. Now it just so happened that Tim called on Pascoes to get items to repair and the rest is history as they say! They now have a son called Dominic.
When the opportunity came to take over the business when Arthur retired in 2010, it was a natural progression. What was even better, they lived locally so it was a no brainer. Tim and Christina have become well-known in Milford and built the business up to the stage where they now have two fully qualified watchmakers working for them: Debbie and Gaelle.
As well as servicing and repair, collectables are starting to become popular and they have a great range for you to select from. Whether it be miniature collectable clocks or collectable watches, these guys are the specialists to advise you.
Christina loves how the Milford Town Centre has evolved over the 10 years. She loves the unique owner-operated stores, the community-feel that exudes, and the changes to the street scape that have occurred. In Milford Road right beside their shop, she is looking forward to the completion of the Milford Bus Hub, with planters at the bus stops, new digital signage and the activation of the Countdown wall.
With 30 years in the industry for Christina and 40 years for Tim, you can be assured that when you do business with Milford Watch & Clock Centre, you will be dealing with passionate professionals. They pride themselves on after sales service. Tim says that “nothing’s a problem – we’ll sort it”.

Good to have Channel Magazine back in print post-COVID with this bumper issue! Have a great August.


See you in Milford, Murray Hill
Manager – Milford Business Association,
manager@milfordshops.co.nz  | 021 950 463 | www.milfordshops.co.nz
facebook: milfordshops • Instagram: milfordnz • youtube: MilfordshopsTV


ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
Here’s an invitation to those locals who run a business from home. Join the Milford Business Association as an Associate Member for a small quarterly fee and become part of the wider Milford Business community. You’ll have access to most of the advantages gained by full membership and a great networking platform. To find out more details, go to our website – www.milfordshops.co.nz and fill out the form under CONTACT at the top right hand corner of the home page.


By: , Murray Hill, Manager
home@black-rock.co.nz

Issue 112 August 2020