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After a decade of being shuttered, a Swiss-style chalet is reopening in the heart of the Southern Alps, bringing a taste of central Europe to the village.
The Chalet was built by Hans Bohny in the harsh alpine climate of Arthur's Pass in the 1960s, where his family ran a lodge, cafe restaurant and bar until they sold the building in the 1990s.
The building even predates a sealed road through the settlement.
But its doors closed about 10 years ago and have remained shut until it was bought by the Rockpool Group last year.
Director Georgie Whittaker said her father spotted the listing and saw the charm in the pub, even after the long hiatus.
"The first time I came through I still could see the potential," she said.
"It's in such a remarkable location, even the drive up here from Christchurch is stunning. Even though it was in a pretty dilapidated state, you could see the potential then and there. It had the bones and it had the character.
"The first thing was to get some heating going. It was very cold, very, very cold."
Renovation was taking place in earnest and acknowledging the character and history of the building was important, Whittaker said.
"I'm incredibly happy with the results," she said.
"I feel like we are honouring the history. You don't want to come into something like this with history and get rid of it all. You want to maintain all the heritage and all the little quirky chalet-esque features. I enjoy that side of it a lot. I really appreciate the work that the Bohnys did, down to the furniture that they made."
Rockpool Group had a link to the Bohnys through its marketing manager and close family friend Annabelle Fisher.
"Back in the very early days mother would play the piano - Mozart, Beethoven - and people would come in and they'd listen to this amazing music," she said.
"We'd have the bach-holders do every August holidays and that was great. Dad would yodel and play the accordion. It was all so different. There was nothing like it in New Zealand at the time.
"The atmosphere was amazing and everybody beside the fire. It was just quite amazing really."
Her father, a carpenter and mason, was working for the park board at the time he started building it, Bohny said.
"My mum got bored and she asked him to build a Swiss-style coffee shop and so he did," she said.
"He built this amazing Swiss-style coffee shop, which is absolutely amazing. He put up every wall, he painted everything. Occasionally somebody would come up and help him with the odd beam or something from Christchurch but basically he did the whole thing himself including the rock-face fireplace."
It opened in 1963 and remained in the family until 1999.
Bohny still spent time in Arthur's Pass and said it was terrible seeing the building sitting empty for the past 10 years.
"It's such a distinctive building, so full of character and it's just sitting there," she said.
"I think some of the locals wanted it to be torn down but as a testament to my father's craftsmanship, it stood the test of time. Ten years of the wind and the rain going sideways at it and snow and probably earthquakes and everything else and it stood there and structurally it's really sound."
Whittaker said locals had got behind the renovation.
Fisher said she was enjoying getting feedback and an insight into the history of the building from Hans Bohny's daughter Heidi Bohny.
"It was quite a shock because Heidi called me and said 'oh, your boss has just brought The Chalet'," she said.
"She's been sharing a lot of the old photos and stories with us that we're going to show through The Chalet."
Heidi Bohny said she still had fond memories of The Chalet's early days.
"The community's been incredible," she said.
"Everyone here is so friendly and they're really excited for this as well. That's the beauty of projects like this is when you get everyone in the community behind you and there's definitely a positive energy about it."
Bohny said she was looking forward to seeing The Chalet open again.
"It's going to be great. The interior looks great and they've drawn inspiration from Swiss-style chalets too.
"It's going to have a lot of character once again and it will be enjoyed by people once again. The lights will be on again and doors open and my parents will be so proud to see it alive again."
The cafe and bar is set to open in October with accommodation to follow.
