HUMANS OF ŌTAUTAHI: LISA
“Just before I turned 17, I started work in a butcher’s shop. I had wanted to become a joiner because I enjoyed making things with my hands but got told that not only was I not strong enough, but that a woman’s place was in the office not in the workshop! I am not an office person. I love to mix with different customers every day.
“I came to New Zealand when I was 19. I was looking for work, but the owner of Everybody’s Butchery didn’t have a job for me, so I bought his business instead! There were a few people who didn’t like the idea
of a female taking over and changing things, but I think change is often a good thing. That’s why we don’t have the run-of-the-mill boring supermarket items. We make all our bratwursts, frankfurters, biersticks, and our big range of small goods by hand here on-site with only locally sourced meat and natural spices. We offer quality, healthy, Keto, Paleo, and gluten-free meat. We also smoke meats on- site and butcher hunters’ and home-kill meats.
“It can be a challenge running a business and having young kids. I have one of each, Torben, my three-year-old boy, and his eighteen- month-old sister Finya. She was not at all well last year and had to be on a feeding tube for five months.
That’s when it’s hard with family living back in Germany, but my Kiwi friends and adopted grandparents, along with my great staff, they all helped us to get through it. We were hoping to be visiting Germany now, but obviously, Covid has put paid to that.
“I don’t eat meat every day, maybe three or four times a week. I do like to have a balanced diet, though I do have a bit of a sweet tooth like a lot of butchers!
So, life is busy but good! I love my job, my family, and living in New Zealand. This is home.”