Co-owning the flagship Joe's Garage cafe in Searle Lane, Queenstown, is not his first foray into the coffee business.
He also co-owns a aviation-themed cafe, Airpresso, at New Plymouth airport with his wife Sue and business partners Craig MacFarlane and Russell Boddington.
Mr MacFarlane supplies his Ozone Coffee to all Lone Star and Joe's Garage franchise outlets, and came up with the idea to buy into the Joe's Garage franchise owned by Michael Hill and Queenstown developer John Martin.
Mr Hickey and his business partners aimed to set up three Joe's Garage cafes in the North Island and took over the Queenstown cafe this week.
The first North Island cafe has been established in Wellington, with Blair Clements as operating shareholder.
Mr Clements had helped in the changeover process in Queenstown, particularly with tweaking the menus, Mr Hickey said.
"We didn't hesitate when the opportunity came up in Queenstown, because it is ... quintessentially Joe's. It's the home of Joe's. It has national and international connections because of all the people who come to Queenstown from all over the world to ski," he said.
"We want to capture that early simplicity and freshen it up with some changes to the menu to keep it evolving. We are keeping the good coffee and the fun, funky nature atmosphere."
He said he would be a silent shareholder, but would have some input.
"I'm the ideas man. I set up the theme and displays for our other cafe and I've done something similar with Joe's to introduce new ideas and give the odd upgrade," he said.
Mr Hickey lives in New Plymouth in an airport hangar.
"It's quite bizarre, really. I fly back to New Plymouth from Auckland walk into my airport cafe then walk across to my hangar, where I have a couple of airplanes downstairs and our apartment upstairs," he said.
He had been a pilot for more than 20 years but had flown into Queenstown only a couple of times, he said.
"It's very challenging to fly into Queenstown, but I hope to get down there and do more flying around the South Island.
"Sue and I, we have four children, have a little apartment on the lake front and we just love it. I ski and my three daughters ski, so we love Queenstown.
"It's an oasis of incredible geography and a unique alpine environment. Now I have a business interest it puts another iron in the fire," he said.
He was TVNZ's senior weather presenter from 1988 until 2003 and rejoined the One News weather team in 2007. He has a BA in geography and a diploma of meteorology.
Mr Hickey has also made television programmes Jim's Car Show and A Flying Visit, How's the Weather Jim? and The Real Middle Earth.
Mr Hickey travels from his home in New Plymouth to Auckland to work 14 out of 28 days as a weather presenter on TVNZ.
"I won't work there forever. I'm on the bad side of 55 now, but I do love it. It's always been my passion. Owning a cafe is just the icing on the cake, because I love a good flat white and a panini."
