Cafe, now focusing on his studies in Dunedin, visited the store at the weekend to present co-owner Paul Vaitkus with one of his hard-won bibs from his recent stint at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in France, where he qualified for five events and secured two top-50 finishes.
Browns Ski Shop, established in Queenstown in 1980 and in Auckland in 2007, has been supporting Cafe since the store awarded the 21-year-old his first skiing scholarship at the age of 12.
Browns went on to employ Cafe as their "boy Friday" when he was 15 and he has been working there on and off ever since.
Mr Vaitkus said Cafe had been a part of the Browns family for almost a decade and it was great to see him doing well on the international stage.
• Winter Games NZ will be held in Otago, from August 21-30.
