Footy's opening s Ohakune

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 1, 28 May 1985, Page 27

Footy's opening s Ohakune

An unusual type of takeaway will soon be opening in Ohakune. Instead of the usual fish and chips, customers will be able to buy spicy kebabs and 'hot spuds'. The takeaway bar, which will be named 'Footy's Kebab and Hot Spud Shop', is being opened by Mr John Foote from Wanganui. John is presently working on the interior of the shop in Clyde Street and hopes to have it completed by early July. Footy's will be open year round, but John plans to employ two extra staff during the ski season to cope with the extra business. He plans to give his shop an old fashioned look, having gained some ideas from photographs of some of Ohakune's earliest shops. Although originally from Wanganui, John has spent the last three years travelling the world gaining knowledge about international cuisine. He travelled through the Middle East, India and Nepal, but it was while he was working in London that he decided he would return to New Zealand and open a kebab shop. "I served in a kebab shop in Paddington for about four months and really loved it. I knew then that I'd

Come back to either Ohakune. or Christchurch and open a kebab and hot spud shop." John has been back from overseas for several months and decided that Ohakune was the place to go "because I love skiing and I love the North Island." Before going overseas, John worked in the family business Foote Columbus

Hi Fi in Wanganui. It was sold in 1982 after being run by the Foote family for 27 years. For the past twenty years John has skied Ruapehu, so he has seen the recent development of Ohakune since the Turoa skifield opened. "It has come a long way but I feel the town still has a lot of potential for further growth," he concluded.