The cafe, housed in the ground floor of a two-storey historic homestead near the Oamaru Public Gardens, is a development by Milligans Food Group.
The Oamaru-based company supplies and manufactures food ingredients, consumer food products and animal nutrition products for the domestic market and also exports to the United States, Australia and Asia.
Owner Bruce Paton said it was decided to buy the homestead, which is more than 100 years old and opposite the company's headquarters, turn it into a cafe and also sell some of the company's products there. .
Milligans produces a wide range of food items, ranging from cheese and flour, to Frosty Boy soft-serve products, pancake mix and mayonnaise, and has grown to employ 35 staff, including in Auckland and overseas.
The company's flour mill and stockfeed plant, MilligansEclipse Flour Company, is in the township of Ngapara, 25km west of Oamaru. The flour mill was set up in 1896.
The licensed cafe, which will be open Monday to Friday, employs four staff.
The stylish interior is the result of extensive renovations, while an adventure playground is being developed outside.
Manager Robin Stock, who has had many years' involvement in the hospitality industry, described the cafe as serving "modern Kiwi cafe-style food".
He has worked in Europe and England, including for celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as well as New Zealand, and was excited about his latest job.
There was a focus on using local suppliers, organic products and Milligans products wherever possible on the menu, Mr Stock said.
There was anticipation about the opening of the cafe - "you get stopped in the street" - with a lot of excitement about it, he said.
