As a result of the disasterous earthquake that hit Christchurch, New Zealand last September, Sarah and Martin Aspinwall lost their beloved cheese store Canterbury Cheesemongers, their café and bakery.

Although the store itself was still standing after the quake, the building was deemed unsafe and demolished shortly thereafter. Despite this huge setback, Sarah and Martin relocated their business to a new premises, only to be hit again two weeks after they opened in February. Fortunately, there was less damage this time around and they are still open for business.

I have known Sarah and Martin since the early nineties when we worked together at Neals Yard Dairy in London. Sarah, a native New Zealander married Martin who is originally from Yorkshire and together they moved to New Zealand to start up their store, bakery and cheese maturing business. Sarah was recently interviewed in a great segment on Canterbury Television that focuses on rebuilding their business after the earthquake. Their passion and tenacity are evident and the store looks really amazing. Here’s wishing them the best of luck in moving forward and to no more earthquakes.