All paths lead to home for new Nelsonian stall owner

For born and bred Nelsonian Ben Plows-Kolff, it was a bit of a case of all roads lead to home.

Fresh off the Te Araroa trail, Plows-Kolff came away with an epiphany; he needed to commit.

Commit to his partner Nicole Hecht, commit to Nelson, and now, commit to running a new business.

Plows-Kolff, 36, and Hecht, 35, are the new owners of Dutch ‘n’ Such, and started their first shift on Saturday.

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In terms of a commitment, it’s probably more than most people would dream of taking on, as the couple also work full time. Plows-Kolff is a landscaper for Nelmac working at the Modeller’s Pond upgrade and Hecht is an English teacher at Nayland College.

But Ben is temping and planning on reducing his hours. Originally a physiotherapist by trade, he ended up in what he deemed an office job, that wasn’t to his liking.

“I spent a lot of my life in quite severe depression, and a sort of sense of meaninglessness. I would not wish that experience on anyone.”

That experience, however, made him realise life was valuable, and shouldn’t be wasted.

“So I guess the stall represents … a sense of purpose as well.”

His insights came on the back of a long trek around the country. Plows-Kolff first walked the South Island segment of Te Araroa over 2019/2020, and did the North Island this past summer.

Does he feel like he gained mental and physical stamina as a result?

“I feel like I already had it to be honest. But I think it just sort of gave me more insight and clarity.”

The pair were both keen dancers, swing dancers to be more precise. In fact, that was how they met. While Plows-Kolff was walking the South Island trail, a friend contacted him to say there was a girl who did the same style of dancing who wanted to meet up.

That girl was Hecht, who hails from Grand Forks, in the interior of British Colombia, Canada.

Dutch ‘n’ Such had a connection with the Plows-Kolff family. Plows-Kolff’s cousin Mark used to run the stall back in the 1990s, so he’d known about the business since he was a child.

But the purchase of the stall came close to never happening. As regulars, the couple had seen prospective buyers in training. But after talking to the owners, they discovered that sale had fallen through.

“It got down to the last two weeks, we were having a coffee there and we saw the notice two weeks ago saying ‘If we don’t sell it, it’s gone, there’s nothing left’.”

While they had been entertaining the idea of buying it, this gave them the final impetus to try the job out for size and make a final decision.

Aside from forays into more gluten-free fare, their main intention for the stall was to continue the legacy and community that had been built.

“The previous owners David and Kim really created this sense of ‘gezellig’, a Dutch word which really can’t be translated, but it’s roughly like, ‘very cozy and warm and loving’,” Plows-Kolff said.

“That’s our bottom line. It has to be fun and lighthearted”.