But the owners say it is not the usual story.
For one, the food and coffee is sited on Lake Dunstan in the Cromwell Gorge.
Business is good, people keep coming in, it has a unique shop window, no parking issues and plenty of foot, wheel and even kayak traffic.
But a desire to do something different and move on to fresh pastures has led to the owners of the Coffee and Burger Afloat closing the floating business in just under two weeks.
Owners Richard and Jolanda Foale said they had put their lives on hold for three years while the business was on the market but no buyer could be found.
‘‘We have multiple people that walk on and they’re just flabbergasted with how amazing it is that in the middle of nowhere you’ve got this opportunity for quality barista coffee and award-winning burgers,’’ Mrs Foale said.
‘‘Just after another unsuccessful time working through with a potential purchaser, we’ve had to decide to put a line in the sand and that is: enough’s enough for us.
‘‘We have put our lives on hold for three years to try and sell it. But this is a different hospitality casualty. Not the ones that you constantly read in the news that they’ve just decided they couldn’t operate any longer because of pressures on hospitality.
‘‘We’ve had lots of offers over the years but nothing has ever fully come through. We’ve had three agents, who have all done a great job but it didn’t eventuate,’’ she said.
Mr Foale said it appeared all the entrepreneurs had left the country.
The business was still going well and the latest season had been great and would only get bigger when the Kawarau Gorge Trail linked from Queenstown with the Lake Dunstan Trail.
They had started the business in 2021 and survived the lockdowns and Covid restrictions of those early years and now visitors came from all over the globe, Mr Foale said.
The couple had only worked four hours a day on the lake and they simply wanted to go and do something different.
One goal was to sail the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Mrs Foale was born in Switzerland and brought up in Kenya, where Mr Foale was born.
They would miss the business and the people who enjoyed the coffee and burgers but it was time to move on.
‘‘It was amazing clientele that we got. They’re all on holiday, they’re all positive, they’re all loving what they’re doing. They’re on an endorphin high when they get here from their exercise,’’ Mrs Foale said.
