A Little Bit of Cape Cod Comes to Auckland

A Little Bit of Cape Cod Comes to Auckland

New to the host of dining options at Sylvia Park, Mama Loco was looking for outdoor seating options when Commercial Manager Andy Roberts heard a story on National Radio about Try 21 and their Cape Cod chairs.

Try21 refers to Trisomy 21 (commonly known as Down Syndrome) and was set up by parents John and Jane Taylor to provide meaningful employment for their son Lawrence, who has Down syndrome.

The Taylors were determined to give their son as much independence as possible, and decided that setting up a business would help solve the issue of long term employment for him “without him being dependant on someone being able to afford to employ him in this economic environment” says mother Jane.

John Taylor was enjoying drinks at a friends’ house relaxing in a Cape Cod chair, and realised this could be the solution they were looking for. After inspecting the design and making a few tweaks, John was able to create an easy-to-assemble process for Lawrence and Try 21 was born.

Based at a cousin’s timber yard, White Cliffs Timber in New Lynn, Lawrence walks the short distance to work every morning and assembles the chairs from scratch.

Mama Loco’s Cape Cod chairs are rarely seen empty on a sunny day. Mama Loco Director Dave Hickey says the chairs are a great fit with the atmosphere. “Lawrence gave the chairs a custom skull cut-out which fits well with the Mama Loco personality, and they’re a hit with all the customers” says Hickey.

Mama Loco loved working with Lawrence and being able to support his growing business. John says Lawrence was pleased to be asked to build the outdoor furniture for Mama Loco. “Lawrence always wanted to work in a bar but over time has accepted that this isn’t an option, so having built the chairs for a bar has been great” says John.

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