Pitches Store, in Ophir, had been vacant and used for storage for about 20 years when current owners David and Colleen Hurd first saw it.
Despite living in Upper Hutt and Auckland the Hurds were regular visitors to Central Otago as Mr Hurd’s mother had grown up in the area.
They often headed south for family events and about 20 years ago on a trip Mr Hurd said he wished he had bought some land in Central Otago. His wife said if they did not do it then they never would, so by the time they got home they had a plan, Mrs Hurd said.
With their children grown up they sold their house in 2007 and bought land at Ophir with plans to build a house. However, they saw the Pitches building, which was just an empty shell, and decided they could do something with it, she said.
"And we did."
Friends had cycled the Otago Rail Trail and said what they really wanted at the end of each day was a good bed, good food and a good shower.
"That’s been our ethos ever since."
Mrs Hurd was a food enthusiast and had experience running a cafe with a friend in Auckland.
They had good chefs who had been responsible for their reputation for excellent food, she said.
The meals and the accommodation were a means to an end though, Mr Hurd said.
"The end was to do up this building."
Cyclists from the trail made up the bulk of their customers. When they first moved to Ophir there were 11 accommodation places in the town, now there were four.
Mr Hurd would go and pick up diners from Omakau and give them a tour and information about the area on the way to dinner.
They had made the decision to sell with mixed feelings, Mrs Hurd said.
Their staff were great and had become like family, she said.
"We’ve worked with some pretty exceptional people."
Their own family was involved in the business - their daughter, who lived in Omakau, baked for Pitches, while her daughters visited with their granddad.
With the ever expanding popularity of the Rail Trail and the season now busy from November to April it was time to step back, Mrs Hurd said.
Being able to travel themselves outside of their quiet season and spend more time with their Auckland grandchildren was appealing.
They will not be leaving the area as they did build their very modern home there, as originally planned, but had never had the time to sort out things completely.
"I could spend a year putting the house to rights," Mrs Hurd said.
