The 7ha orchard, on Earnscleugh Rd, near Clyde, has 4000 well-established trees producing nectarines, cherries, apricots, peaches and apples which, business founder Alex Giminez says, will offset the carbon footprint from its Queenstown, Queenstown Airport, Arrowtown and Wānaka stores.
He adds the new location will give them even more access to locally-sourced, quality ingredients to use in their Argentinian-inspired, hand-crafted goods.
Giminez has already received resource consent to build a 1400sq m factory with 300-plus solar panels.
"All equipment will be electric, except the truck, for now."
A zero-waste philosophy will be implemented and, in the pursuit of sustainability, it’ll operate off-grid.
The factory will replace three existing locations, including one in Queenstown’s Glenda Dr, Giminez says.
It’ll also operate as a food tourism destination called Casa Patagonia Chocolates— ‘casa’ meaning ‘home’ in Spanish.
The site will host a cafe and a sensory experience will be offered with tours and tastings.
It’s expected the site will be operational by the summer of 2027/’28.
