Oturehua’s Railway Hotel will close its doors if no buyer is found by June 1.
Co-owners Grahame and Liz Jones have made the difficult decision to shut the pub rather than carry on.
"It would be nice [to find buyers] because I tell you what, it’s a good old girl. She faces north. She’s got the sun all day. It’s well built.
"I mean, it’s 1890. And it’s got a lot of stories to tell. And it would be wonderful if Oturehua doesn’t have to lose their pub because the pub is the hub," Mrs Jones said.
On the Otago Central Rail Trail, it was also on the Sounds to Sounds bike packing route. About 90 minutes had them at an international airport in either Queenstown or Dunedin and the distance to Wānaka or Oamaru, she said.
After 17 years running the business it was time for them to retire, Mr Jones said.
"We came in at, what, we were 52 or 53. And we didn’t feel old at that age, and we did a lot to the place.
"Fifty, you got plenty of energy. But, yeah, getting past that, past your 60s, it’s hard."
More time with their family, especially grandchildren and fishing on their boat was their new priorities.
The business was a cafe and bar, restaurant and accommodation along with the owners’ house.
Chef’s hours were not usually conductive to family life but at the Railway Hotel you could put the children to bed and be two seconds down the hall to the kitchen.
They were usually closed by around 8pm and Saturday night was the quietest, Mr Jones said.
The village was a safe haven.
"It reminds us of growing up in Christchurch in the ’50s and ’60s," Mrs Jones said.
They were asking just $10,000 above the rateable value to help someone take it over.
"We really just want out of it what it owes us. And to allow someone that doesn’t have necessarily a lot of money to get into this place.
"People that really want a pub don’t necessarily have a lot of money and people that do have a lot of money don’t want a pub," Mr Jones said.
School buses passed the gate and the village had tennis courts, a swimming pool and hall.
"Too few young people see it as an opportunity of getting in there and having a business that’s affordable and accessible for young people.
"And I think that’s where we need to be looking strategically to say this isn’t just a retiree’s lifestyle, this is an absolutely awesome lifestyle for young people even with families."
The surrounding community was extremely supportive of the business. The pub and other businesses, such as accommodation providers, relied on and worked with each other, she said.
"And so we really want to ensure that they are retained so that the experience remains what has been an outstanding experience. But, yeah, for people wanting a lifestyle change, by God, have we got the answer for them."
The village and surrounding area was home to a diverse range of people from writers and artists to farmers.
A big fear was the hotel would be bought for private accommodation as had happened in other places, Ms Wilson said.
"That’s devastating, absolutely devastating for the other operators and for the people doing the rail trail.
"And so we really want to ensure that they are retained so that the experience remains what has been an outstanding experience.
