Covid, cost of living crisis and health force quirky café to close after 18 years

A quirky café that has become a Nelson institution is closing after 18 years.

Kush in Church St is shutting on Wednesday afternoon for the final time, unless someone makes an offer to owner Andy Budd.

“I’m open to anything,” he said, including “any mad ideas”.

The impact of Covid, the cost of living crisis and Budd’s health problems – his deteriorating eyesight means he can no longer drive and he had a major seizure a year ago – are factors behind the closure.

Sitting in the café on Tuesday afternoon, in front of his collection of kitsch Tretchikov prints, he said it was “a very sad day – it’s a bloody miserable day actually.”

He said despite his efforts and those of his nine “wonderful” staff, he had got to the point where he could no longer afford to pay wages.

“I have tried to extend and extend and extend and I can’t do it any more.”

Budd opened Kush in Richmond in 2005, moving to Bridge St in 2007 and then to the current central city premises in 2009. His love for coffee started as a child when his mother bought an Italian stove-top coffee maker, and he was hooked during a trip to southern Europe, particularly by the “professionalism and mystique around the coffee experience.”

They are qualities he bought to Kush, roasting his own beans and building up a loyal customer base, attracted by the coffee and the bohemian vibe.

Budd said the café had not had struggled since the arrival of Covid in 2020. It was not just the lockdowns and restrictions, but the flow-on effects such as the shortage of trained and experienced staff.

After the pandemic, the cost of living crisis had hit. Budd said while the café might still appear busy with its core of regulars, it was the loss of those extra customers skipping their daily flat white that made the difference.

He had tried to find a buyer for the business, without luck, though he had an approach from a party interested in its potential as a bar.

“It would be a fantastic bargain opportunity for somebody. It’s got to work for them as well as me – I’m not going to be greedy or silly but I would really like it to carry on in some form.”

His roastery at Port Nelson would still be operating, but he was also open to offers for that part of the business.

Budd said he was grateful for the experience at Kush, and particularly for his staff and customers, and he remains an unwavering coffee fan.

“I think it’s absolutely necessary. It makes the world go around.”