This small, one-shop stop, is on the main highway between Kaikoura and Blenheim and if you are travelling north this summer it is a must.
It juts out on a corner adjacent to a railway overbridge overlooking the Pacific.
The coastline in these parts is a beauty to behold, but in haste to get from A to B all too often we just put the foot down and go for it.
And although it is a hoary old cliche, from time to time we all need to remind ourselves that the more rewarding joys in life often arise out of the journey itself rather than in reaching the destination.
The Store is one of my favourite New Zealand journey-breakers.
When you've been cooped up in a car for hours on end that last thing you need - but almost invariably get - in a roadside stop is half an hour in another confined space, complete with weak coffee and stale slice.
Walk into the airy, cavernous shearing-shed-meets-Mediterranean chic of The Store, complete with exotic artefacts, a double-sided fire (for winter travellers), and endless views out over the ocean and already you feel a million miles better.
Then take a gander at the menu or the above-average food cabinet where there is not a warm pie or soggy sausage roll in sight, and you know you have made a good call.
The food is a cut above what you would normally expect and the coffee excellent.
But it is out on the expansive decking that you really begin to get the full value of the place, the sea air, the views, the breeze in your hair; and then there is the garden to explore and a large area of grassed foreshore to stretch the legs.
Just what the doctor ordered.
If you do a reasonable amount of driving, I find it helps to have targets, places to aim for or look forward to.
Places that relieve the tension and stress of a long day on the road.
And when heading north, The Store at Kekerengu is invariably on my list.
